Sustainable Rare Earth Magnet Solutions at REPM
Birmingham, UK – The 27th International Workshop on Rare Earth & Future Permanent Magnets & Their Applications (REPM 2023), hosted at the University of Birmingham from September 3rd to September 7th, 2023, included a series of remarkable contributions by the REEsilience consortium. These efforts, spanning presentations and an interactive exhibition booth, highlighted the importance of sustainability in the magnetic rare earth materials industry.
More information about the 27th REPM 2023
Key Highlights of REEsilience’s Participation:
- Prominent Booth Presence: REEsilience’s booth was a vibrant hub for knowledge sharing and networking, inviting attendees to engage with the consortium’s work.
- Recycling Emphasis: Prof. Carlo Burkhardt (Universit of Pforzheim), the coordinator of REEsilience, stressed the significance of permanent magnet recycling. His insights included Europe’s imperative need to reduce reliance on imported rare earth magnets, the transformative role of hydrogen in NdFeB magnet recycling demonstrated by the SUSMAGPRO project, the idea behind the REEsilience project and the promising potential of HPMS for sustainable magnet production.
- Innovative Research: Mihaela Rebernik of the Jozef Stefan Institute presented her research within the REEsilience framework. Her work focused on enhancing the performance of recycled Nd-Fe-B magnets through innovative methodologies such as grain boundary engineering and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The integration of Nd-Cu was identified as significantly enhancing the intrinsic coercivity and remanent magnetisation of SPS samples, offering a pathway to optimising recycled magnet properties.
- Poster Session Contributions: Partners from Universität für Weiterbildung Krems, Johann Fischbacher, and Oleksandr Hrushko, shared their REEsilience research during poster sessions. Fischbacher’s work delved into the ‘Micromagnetic study of the impact of grain boundaries on coercivity.’ At the same time, Hrushko presented ‘Thermal stresses in the Nd-Fe-B polycrystal system with grain boundary phase.’
REEsilience’s presence at REPM 2023 highlighted their commitment to advancing sustainability within the rare earth magnets industry. Their diverse contributions underscored sustainability’s pioneering role in shaping the future of rare earth materials. In a world increasingly focused on cleaner and more environmentally responsible technologies, initiatives like REEsilience continue to spearhead positive transformations within the rare earth materials sector.
