Project: Securing the Supply chain for rare earth Polymer-Bonded Magnets by recycling
| Acronym | SupplyPBM (Reference Number: ERA-MIN-2018_86) |
| Project Topic | The main objective of the project SupplyPBM is the demonstration of a circular economy route for rare earth polymer-bonded magnets. Scrap sintered permanent magnets from End-of-Life (EoL) products will be recycled by rapid solidification and processed to polymer-bonded magnets. Moreover, technologies suitable for recycling of polymer-bonded magnets in a continuous supercritical hydrothermal reactor will be investigated. The aim is to produce polymer-bonded magnets out of recycled magnet powder with the same performance than magnets made from primary material, so that entering the market by these magnets does not require any adaption of the products or systems themselves. Additionally, to the recycling aspect of polymer-bonded magnets, the bio-design of these magnets is addressed, by the first time use of bio-polymers in permanent magnet applications. Finally, the environmental impact of the production and recycling of polymer-bonded magnets will be investigated by a Life Cycle Assessment analysis. SupplyPBM ambitions to achieve a major breakthrough on three technical levels. First, a pathway for recycling of permanent magnets from EoL application by melt-spinning and subsequent production to polymer-bonded magnets will be shown. Second, the recycling of polymer-bonded magnets in a high pressure / high temperature reactor in a continuous supercritical hydrothermal reactor will be demonstrated. Third, bio-based polymers will be used in polymer-bonded magnets for the first time, reducing the impact of polymers from fossil resources. The project SupplyPBM aims at closing materials cycles by recovering and back-feeding valuable rare earth materials to an industrial magnet production within the EU. Within this project, a linear supply chain will be turned into a closed material loop. |
| Network | ERA-MIN 2 |
| Call | ERA-MIN Joint Call 2018 |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fraunhofer ISC, Project Group IWKS | Coordinator | Germany |
| 2 | Veekim AG | Partner | Germany |
| 3 | ARELEC | Partner | France |
| 4 | ICMCB / CNRS | Partner | France |
| 5 | Université de Bordeaux | Partner | France |