EMR joins project to revolutionise recycling of rare earth magnets for electric vehicles

EMR is continuing its mission to develop advanced circular supply chains for rare earth magnets by joining CirculaREEconomy (CREEM) – a pioneering £11 million research and development consortium. 

Led by rare earth recycling innovator Ionic Technologies, the initiative brings together forward thinking automotive manufacturers, as well as rare earth metals and magnet manufacturers, to establish a scalable and sustainable method of recovering and reusing rare earth magnets from end of life vehicles (ELV).

Rare earth magnets, such as powerful Neodymium (NdFeB) magnets, are essential components in electric vehicles (EV) and can be found in powertrains, seat motors, speakers and many other systems. However, they are difficult to recover and recycle and potentially vulnerable to global supply chains. 

Facilitated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), CREEM aims to transform this challenge into an opportunity. EMR is investing £730,000 (including match funding) to develop the collection, recovery and recycling technology that will enable rare earth magnets to be recovered more efficiently, sustainably and safely from EV motors and other assemblies.

EMR will work alongside Ionic Technologies and other consortium partners – including Ford Technologies, Bentley Motors, Bamford Bus Company (Wrightbus), Less Common Metals (LCM) and the British Geological Survey (BGS).

Recycling rare earth magnets can be a slow, expensive and labour intensive process. From a new pilot line at EMR Birmingham, teams will explore ways to make the process of liberating the rare earth magnets contained within EV motors more efficient. This will allow them to be safely and effectively recovered as part of a ‘long loop circular supply chain’ – where materials re-enter the manufacturing cycle with a high level of purity and function.

Carefully separating magnets in this way allows Ionic Technologies to break them down to their constituent rare earth oxides using a range of solvents and other chemical processes. This approach offers the industry flexibility in the chemistry of the recycled magnets it can produce, enabling rare earth magnets from older EVs to become new magnets that meet the exact specification required for future vehicles, reflecting the fast pace of innovation.

In addition, this project will allow EMR to safeguard the high grade steel often used to build these motors – which can be downcycled during some recycling processes.

By limiting the demand for virgin materials, a sophisticated circular supply chain for rare earth magnets will reduce the biodiversity loss associated with extracting primary materials, as well as boost the UK’s resource security. Early analysis by Ionic Technologies suggests refining this secondary (recycled) material can reduce the carbon impact by around 60% compared to virgin alternatives.

Roger Morton, managing director for technology and innovation at EMR, said: ‘We are really excited to reveal the next stage of EMR’s mission to create a circular economy for rare earth magnets – crucial to the green transition.

‘A circular economy for these materials won’t only safeguard the planet’s biodiversity and add resilience to vital supply chains, it will also allow our customers to achieve circularity, move closer to their net zero targets and align with the ELV Regulations and the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act – which mandates a quarter of demand for this material must be met by recycling by 2030.

‘In addition, EMR’s long term commitment to recycling these powerful magnets has enabled our teams to develop the highest safety standards when handling what can be very difficult materials.

‘We will now take everything we have learned so far and join forces with the rest of the consortium to build an efficient, scalable and flexible long loop supply chain which complements our previous development projects for these increasingly crucial magnets.’

Ian Constance, CEO at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, said: ‘This new investment underlines the commitment from government to secure advanced manufacturing in the UK. I am pleased that the APC, Zenzic and its delivery partners are here to facilitate a new wave of funding in the automotive industry, supporting innovation, driving scale up, and enabling transformation.

‘This will encourage further investment in the UK’s growing zero emission supply chain, safeguarding skilled jobs and building on the country’s reputation as a world leader for technology.’