At Functional Materials (FM), we believe in “Explaining science is as beautiful as the science itself”. Upholding our philosophy, Functional Materials proudly shares the successful completion of the conference “IEEE Magnetic Frontiers 2024”, hosted in association with the IEEE Magnetics Society. The conference was held from September 15th to 19th in Darmstadt, Germany and themed to ‘Magnetic Materials and Motors for Green Energy Applications’. The conference was chaired by Prof. Oliver Gutfleisch (TU Darmstadt/Germany, IEEE Fellow), Prof. Johan Paulides (Advanced Electromagnetic Group/Netherlands, IEEE Senior Member), and Dr. Claire Donnelly (MPI CPFS Dresden, IEEE magnetic Society Representative).

The plenary talks were delivered by Dr. Masato Sagawa, the inventor of the permanent sintered neodymium magnets, Dr. Franca Albertini (CNR INREM, Parma), Prof. Kiyonori Suzuki (Monash University, Melbourne), and Dr. Alain Rollet (Carester, France). Six sessions spanning various topics in magnetic materials including synthesis, advanced characterization techniques, recyclability, and the use of AI/ML to develop efficient and sustainable permanent magnets. With the ever-growing use of magnets in motors, a session was dedicated to have an industrial perspective on the current scenario and ways to achieve sustainability, covering the entire spectrum from mining rare earth elements to their use in motors, thus forging the way to green energy production. The conference had three dedicated poster sessions and more than fifty flash talks which provided an excellent opportunity for the young and experienced researchers to showcase their research and harness potential avenues for collaboration. A highlight of the conference was the round table talk, the panel comprising leading experts from industry and academia, wherein a global perspective on aspects of manufacturing, recyclability, laws and regulations, economic feasibility, and withstanding challenges associated with using permanent magnets were openly discussed.

In addition to the illuminating talks and intense scientific discussions, various other activities were organised, including excursion to the State of Hessian winery and wine tasting event at monastery of Eberbach, a group dinner at the iconic Orangerie Darmstadt, and detailed lab tour to the Functional Materials to demonstrate the capabilities of the host group. With the state-of-the-art scientific facilities available at Functional Materials (TU Darmstadt) for simulating, developing, synthesizing, and characterizing permanent magnets and magnetocaloric materials, the research group enthusiastically looks forward to strengthening collaboration with the leading experts in the respective fields.

The conference saw 130 participants from 21 countries, highlighting the success of the conference in garnering the global participation as well as enthusiasm from both industry (1/3 of participants) and academia. We are extremely grateful to the sponsors, IEEE Magnetics Society, Quantum Design, Vacuumschmelze, Technologieland Hessen, SFB/TRR 270 Hommage, whose supports were instrumental in making this conference successful. We look forward to future sessions of this conference and strengthening the voice of our science aimed towards attaining a sustainable future.

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