Legacy Department of Trade & Industry
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are essential for the Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPMs), which are required for e-motors and additional components. REE supply is volatile and can disrupt commercial ecosystems. The UK has limited natural REE resources but does boast successful industries reliant on REEs. The only realistic route for an insulated, sustainable, UK REPM supply chain is to develop robust recycling technology, and the integrated working practises in this project will allow it to thrive. Recyclers, mid-stream manufacturers, and OEMs will collaborate to optimise REE resources and maximise the UK e-motor opportunity and complimentary opportunities.
Less Common Metals (LCM) Ltd, UK, is leading an initiative called "Industrial Scrap-to-Magnet" in collaboration with Ionic Technology and Vacuumschmelze (VAC) through the REEVALUATE project. The initiative aims to develop high-quality NdFeB magnets using 100% recycled heavy and light rare earth elements (REEs) with full traceability. This project addresses the anticipated surge in demand for REEs by 2040 due to the increasing adoption of clean energy technologies, electric vehicles, and electronic devices.
The project will focus on reclaiming pre-consumer industrial scrap from magnet manufacturing and material processing stages, which account for 36% of valuable RE content. VAC will provide pre-consumer magnet scrap, while Ionic Technologies will use patented technology to produce high purity RE oxides from the scrap at their Demonstration Plant. LCM, the only industry in the Western world producing RE metals and alloys for permanent magnet production companies, will then use unique technologies to reduce the oxides to RE metals/alloys and supply them back to VAC at the required specification for magnet production. In addition to this, the byproduct scrap formed during material processing at LCM will be further processed at Ionic and will continue in the loop. The successful outcome of the REEVALUATE project will establish a sustainable, circular supply chain for REEs in the UK, supporting the magnet industry and the country's NetZero ambitions.
The HPMS process, developed by the University of Birmingham and now licensed by HyProMag Limited provides an efficient way of liberating magnets from end of life components. Inevitably some of the material liberated is not suitable for short loop recycling, however the material still has value and does not necessarily need to go to a full long loop recycling route. LCM have the equipment, technology and knowledge to melt some of these materials which could then be put back in to a magnet making process. This route would still offer large benefits for CO2e when compared to magnets made from primary material, but would also add an ability to modify the alloy from end of life magnet to recycled magnet making. This project aims to characterise and process materials taken after HPMS liberation and then blend them back in at different points to create new magnets, demonstrated in a magnetic filtration device built by UK market leader Adey.
SUPREEMO aims to establish the first pre-commercial Rare Earth Elements (REEs) production value chain (TRL7) using European (EU) primary resources as feedstock, developing sustainable, cost-competitive processing, refining and Rare Earth (RE) Permanent Magnet (PM) production technologies in a responsible way complying with local and international safety regulations. This will contribute in securing REE materials supply for the EU industry and strategic sectors which depends 100 % on Chinese imports. The largest end-user of REEs is the PMs industry, that contain neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium as key elements to produce high energy-efficient motors, which are vital for electric mobility and renewable energy technologies. SUPREEMO will exploit the primary resourcesfrom two major EU sites: Kvanefjeld REE-deposit Greenland (large scale RE project) with ore reserves of >143 Mtonne and Fen deposit Norway (largest carbonatite deposit in EU) with >200 Mtonne grading 1.2-1.5 % Total Rare Earth Oxides. It will capitalise on technologies demonstrated in previous projects and develop an innovative, environmentally friendly, socially and economically sustainable REEs processing technologies. During phase 1, the partners will optimise the stand alone technologies to elucidate the final integrated process flowsheet with the best processing parameters in phase 2, guided by LCA and LCCA. This will be validated at the piloting activities in phase 3. Finally, the production of 50-100 kg of REO at similar cost to commercial value from Chinese production will be demonstrated at TRL7 by processing ~ 10 tonnes of ores, and the production of Rare Earth Alloy for the manufacturing of 50 kg PMs. Results will be communicated and disseminated to key stakeholders and a concrete first business plan will be set to attract more investors and stimulate a competitive, resilient and sustainable REEs production value chain ready for full-scale deployment in the EU market.
Ionic Technologies, Less Common Metals (LCM) and Ford are seeking to establish a demonstration circular supply chain for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) in the UK, by utilising innovative technologies to create high specification magnets containing 100% recycled REEs for use in Electrical Vehicles (EVs).
Production of critical minerals of all kinds is expected to rise sharply, some as much as 500% by 2040\. Given the current dependency on imports of REEs into the UK, it will be vital for recycling of REEs to become mainstream and to integrate REE recycling into the UK REE supply chain.
Ionic Technologies have demonstrated patented technology at the Demonstration Plant in Belfast, in order to produce high purity REEs at a rate of 10 tonnes per annum. At 99.5% purity or higher, the REEs produced are suitable for use in high specification magnets for EVs and other technology contributing towards the UK's NetZero ambitions.
LCM is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of complex alloy systems and metals including those based on REEs. LCM produces alloys made from REEs, which are supplied to permanent magnet production companies worldwide. As there is no producer of sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets (REPMs) for the automotive industry in the UK, a sub-contract magnet producer will be used to manufacture multiple magnet types which meet Ford's specifications.
Ford currently has 4 drive production facilities globally; the majority of EU production will come from its UK based Halewood facility which is planning to produce close to half a million units per annum by 2026\. To support production at this facility there will be a requirement for over 600 tonnes of magnet raw material per annum. Ford will test and analyse the performance of magnets provided through the project, to prove the efficacy of high specification magnets containing REEs of recycled origin.
Inevitably, each stage of the process from REE recycling to EV testing will generate waste (swarf), including the magnets used in Ford's EV motors. Ionic technologies will recycle this material, thus completing a totally circular REE supply chain within the UK.
In summary, this project seeks to build a demonstration supply chain of recycled REEs in the UK, utilising industry leading technology at each stage of magnet manufacture and testing.
Achieving the required step-change improvements in resource efficiency for critical materials for magnets demands significant changes to the way the materials & their production processes are designed. This project aims to demonstrate the viability of using the latest artificial intelligence methods coupled with quantum simulations to rapidly identify improved magnet materials that rely less on critical materials, and use the new capability to enhance an existing commercial material by reducing or removing at least one critical element.
This project will investigate the feasibility of building a Neodymium Boron Iron (NdFeB) magnet plant in the UK. Initially a market study will be carried out to identify the likely future requirements for such magnets, both in terms of volumes and specifications, with focus on the growing EV industry. A suitable plant to meet these requirements will then be scoped, and the opportunities for using innovative technologies to improve competitiveness will be assessed.
This project will investigate requirements for a competitive UK supply chain for rare earth magnets.
Rare earth magnets represent between 40 to 50% of the value of the raw materials for an electric motor. This is a critical component in the production of electric motors and is vital for the UK Road to Zero strategy which will see all new vehicles to be effectively zero emission by 2040\.