![]() ![]() The grant will fund the development of a complete European supply chain that is capable of producing 20 tonnes of recycled magnets a year that would otherwise go to landfill.Ī robotic sorting line will locate and concentrate the rare earth magnets from scrap at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, recycling facilities will extract the metal alloy powders, and these will be used to manufacture recycled magnets in plants in the UK, Germany and Slovenia.Īn innovative process developed by University of Birmingham researchers will be a key aspect of this new supply chain. Additionally, there has been significant volatility in the price of rare earth metals in recent years, and recycling the magnets will help protect the supply chain for Europe’s manufacturing base. China produces around 80% of the world’s rare earth metals 2, and currently less than 1% is recycled 3 – which means it presents an exciting circular economy opportunity. In the last 30 years their use has increased exponentially, and demand is expected to rise to the tens of thousands of tonnes by 2030 1. These are found in hard disk drives, household appliances, electric vehicles and wind turbine generators, and are increasingly important in the transition to a green, low carbon economy. The facility will focus on recycling magnets made of neodymium, boron and iron. The University of Birmingham has been awarded €4m to set up a pilot facility to reclaim rare earth metals from scrap as part of the EU-funded Horizon 2020 project SUSMAGPRO (Sustainable Recovery, Reprocessing and Reuse of Rare-Earth Magnets in a Circular Economy). ![]()
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