Closing the Loop: How PERMANET Hub 3 Transforms Recycled Materials into High-Performance Magnets
At Hub 3, knowledge and research take center stage. Politecnico di Milano is leading this hub with a strong academic perspective, showing how science can support real-world change. We asked them how research contributes to PERMANET’s goals, and how their hub is connecting people, knowledge, and technology.
1. How can advanced manufacturing techniques accelerate the transition from recycled rare earth elements to industrial-scale magnet production in Europe?
The expertise of the Permanet consortium on advanced manufacturing techniques, such as hydrogen decrepitation or sintering, coupled with the access to the network is already representing promising outcomes to move to the industrial-scale magnet production in Europe. Similarly, competences on the characterization of existing magnets circulating in the products coupled with the process engineering are key on guaranteeing that the recycling and manufacturing processes are capable of delivering the magnets with the required grade and characteristics.
2. What are the most promising applications for circular magnets, and how can the European industry seize this opportunity to lead globally?
Permanent magnets are in a wide number of different products, from headphones to electric motors. Currently, one of the most promising applications is indeed the recovery of magnets from electric motors, given the quantity (from hundred grams up to some kilos per motor) and quality (medium to high grade) present in each product. As for other products, the reverse value-chain is key in collecting the returning products, identifying the quality status and distributing the returning products ('cores') to the most suitable node of the HUB.
3. How can the integration of HUBs 1, 2, and 3 serve as a replicable model for a fully circular rare earth magnet value chain?
The strength of the three HUBs relies in their mutual support and matchmaking in terms of demanufacturing and remanufacturing technologies with respect to the demand of circular magnets. Being part of an ecosystem such as the one built by the PERMANET project means having access to scalability potential, as well as being extremely flexible to address the magnet demand. Moreover, the HUBs are based on the contribution of people among the best leading experts in magnet recycling and manufacturing.
4. What are the main challenges each HUB is facing in building a fully circular and resilient rare earth magnet value chain, and how can they be overcome through collaboration and innovation?
As it was also found in other circular value chains, one of the main challenges for industrial circularity is the uncertainty of returning products, and especially their quality status. This means that, once the recycling and manufacturing processes are fully in place, only through collaboration, synchronization and novel information-sharing models, industries participating to the HUBs can be proactive in managing the circular and resilient rare-earth magnet value chain.