A wide array of high-performance magnets is currently available, exhibiting significant variations depending on their application and manufacturer. These magnets find diverse applications, including those in the fields of electromobility and wind energy. The technical feasibility of direct reuse of Nd-Fe-B-based magnets (permanent magnets) from old electric motors is evident, as the magnetic properties of the magnets remain unimpeded by operation. However, the lack of standardization among these magnets hinders their practical implementation. The consortium's objective is to facilitate the recycling of these magnets for subsequent reuse. However, the chemical elements are not separated from each other and placed on the market as rare earth oxides, for example, but are processed into powder by hydrogen atomization or rapid solidification of the melt. This processed powder can be reused for magnet production. Achieving these objectives necessitates a reduction in energy consumption, thereby minimizing CO₂ emissions and waste generation. This can be accomplished without resorting to the use of environmentally harmful chemicals. To further reduce energy consumption and material waste, additive manufacturing of Nd-Fe-B magnets is a promising approach for a sustainable and efficient production chain and a comprehensive material cycle. This approach offers distinct advantages over conventional sintering or hot forming of magnets, including enhanced geometric freedom in magnet design, which optimizes applications such as electric motors. Consequently, the project integrates recycling with additive manufacturing technology to produce sustainable (“responsible”) permanent magnets.

535,800 euros of the funding will go to TU Darmstadt. The “Functional Materials” research group is in charge of this project and is working on additive magnet production, more specifically on the optimization and characterization of magnetic properties. This project specifically uses the PBF-LB/M method for processing recycled magnetic materials, which has not yet played a commercial role. The main feature of this technique is that no binder phase is used, which means that the powder material is processed into fully dense parts by re-melting. This is the only way to achieve the same high performance as sintered magnets. This process must be controlled, e.g. to prevent the formation of secondary phases (especially soft magnetic iron), but also to produce an optimal grain size and texture. The current magnetic performance of such “printed” magnets cannot yet compete with the energy products of commercial Nd-Fe-B magnets. However, this process offers significant advantages through energy-efficient processing, minimal material waste and geometric freedom in contrast to conventional manufacturing processes.