EU Project SUSMAGPRO: Sustainable Recovery, Reprocessing and Reuse of Rare-Earth Magnets in a Circular Economy

Rare-Earth (RE) magnets based upon Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB, also containing Dysprosium) are used in a wide range of high-tech industries, such as automotive, aerospace, e-mobility, wind power generation, and consumer goods. However in recent years the supply of these materials has come under considerable pressure and Neodymium and Dysprosium are now deemed to be of greatest supply risk for all elements. Europe also imports far more NdFeB magnets than it manufactures, which puts its industry in a vulnerable position.

The aim of SUSMAGPRO is to identify, separate, reprocess and reuse NdFeB magnets at pilot scale, activating a circular economy business model. The pilot plants will produce 110 tons of magnetic products per year. Instead of dumping this critical resource in landfill sites or exporting are RE-containing waste to other parts of the globe, SUSMAGPRO will use the latest technologies to extract the elements from magnets scrap, and will use short-loop circular economy routes to re-integrate the RE into new products for the European market. The focus is on applications in automotive rotors, water pumps, loudspeakers and wind turbines with renowned industrial partners such as ZF, Grundfos, Sennheiser and Siemens. The project is funded by the European Union’s research and innovation programme Horizon 2020.

The project will develop new sensing and robotic sorting lines for the identified end of life (EoL) products, building upon technologies developed in the previous EU project REMANENCE. New hydrogen based technologies (so-called hydrogen processing of magnet scrap – HPMS) will be demonstrated at scale for separating and purifying NdFeB powders from the robotically sorted parts and this technology will be duplicated at a second location. The separated powders will be re-manufactured into sintered magnets, injection moulded magnets, metal injection moulded magnets and cast alloys, at 4 different companies across 3 countries, building upon work from the previous EU project REProMag. The technologies already won the German Raw Material Efficiency Award and the Baden-Württemberg Environmental Technology Award.

For each recycling route, a technical-economic and life cycle assessment will be carried out to show the advantages over conventional production. The project will stimulate discussion on design for recycling and relevant standardisation and contribute to knowledge and technology transfer with trainings. A travelling roadshow in the second half of the project will engage the local population across different European cities to increase awareness about the challenges linked to RE magnets and the solutions proposed by SUSMAGPRO thanks to EU funding. The roadshow will give the opportunity to test and compare products with conventional and SUSMAGPRO magnets.

The project is coordinated by the Institute for Precious Metals and Technology (STI) of Pforzheim University, Germany and will last until May 2023. The consortium consists of 19 project partners and one associated partner from nine European countries. (Austria, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom).

Connect with SUSMAGPRO!
Twitter: @susmagpro

Funding: European Union Research and Innovation Programme Horizon 2020 under grant agreement 821114.
REMANENCE Project (EU FP7 Programme, GA No. 310240): https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/106545/en
REProMag Project (EU H2020 Programme, GA No. 636881): https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/193433/factsheet/en

Maëva Pratlong
Project Manager

Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum
Steinhäuserstr. 12
76135 Karlsruhe, Germany

E-Mail: susmagpro@gmail.com
Tel: +49 721 93519 134
https://www.steinbeis-europa.de

Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum (SEZ) was founded in March 1990 by the Commissioner for Europe of Baden-Württemberg's former Minister of Economic Affairs. SEZ's core business activity is facilitating the path to European research funding opportunities for Baden-Württemberg's Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and to support transnational technology transfer. In 2016, Steinbeis 2i GmbH (S2i) was founded to complement this mission. As a member of the Steinbeis network and a partner in the Enterprise Europe Network, SEZ and S2i form a bridge to Europe for companies and industry, research organisations, universities, administrations and policy makers.

This release was published on openPR.