Rare Earth Magnet Recycling is Key to a Wind-Powered Future
September, 2023
There are 17 metallic elements on the periodic table that are classified as “rare earths,” and each have unique fluorescent, conductive, and magnetic properties. However, despite their name, rare earth elements are actually quite common. Some rare earth elements, like cerium, are equally as abundant in the Earth’s crust as copper and tin.
The term “rare earths” was coined when a peculiar black rock was discovered by a miner in Ytterby, Sweden, in 1788. The ore was called “rare” because it had never been seen before and “earth” because that was the geological term used to describe rocks that could be dissolved in acid during the 18th century.
Our understanding of rare earth elements has developed significantly since their initial discovery nearly 250 years ago. After they were first identified, the greatest challenge in rare earth chemistry was determining how to separate them in order to hone their unique properties. Although rare earth elements can be found in many places across the globe, they are never found in high enough concentrations that are viable to mine. Moreover, they’re typically found in clusters or mixed with radioactive elements, such as uranium and thorium, that are especially difficult to separate and process.
Carl Auer von Welsbach was the first known chemist to overcome these initial challenges and develop a commercial use for rare earth elements in 1880. He first developed a gas mantle neodymium and praseodymium, and later discovered he could mix the resulting rare earth waste with iron to create flint stone that was commonly used in cigarette lighters and automobile ignitions.
From that point on, our understanding of rare earth elements continued to expand, as well as their use in contemporary society. In the early 1950s, the rare earth element europium was used to help develop the color television. Rare earth elements were also crucial to advances in atomic physics throughout the early 20th century -- most notably the development of power radar instruments and lasers utilizing rare earths during the Cold War.
What are rare earth NdFeB magnets? They’re extremely strong, permanent magnets that are composed of the alloys of rare earth elements, capable of generating and maintaining their own magnetic field.
The History and Future of Rare Earth Magnets
What are Rare Earth Elements, And What Makes Them So “Rare”?
Despite the many advances in separating, processing, and commercializing rare earth elements during the early 20th century, it wasn’t until decades later that Dr. Masato Sagawa of Sumitomo and John Croat, an inventor for General Motors, simultaneously conceived of the neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnet and separately introduced the invention at the same conference in Pittsburgh in 1983.
The invention of NdFeB magnets in the 1980s marked a major technological breakthrough that paved the way for the electrification of modern society. By the 1990s, the use of NdFeB magnets soared alongside the invention and widespread use of personal computers that require small-but-powerful permanent magnets.
The Discovery of NdFeB Rare Earth Magnets
The use of NdFeB rare earth magnets has only continued to expand throughout the 21st century, as the magnets now serve as foundational building blocks for the electric technologies we use every day, from smartphones and laptops to household appliances such as washing machines and refridgerators. NdFeB magnets are also crucial for the development of larger-scale technologies, such as industrial automation, aerospace and missile defense systems, and perhaps most significantly, renewable energy power generation.
Today, the global market for these super-strength magnets is expected to reach US $20 billion a year in the matter of a few years as the automobile industry increasingly shifts toward electric vehicles and utilities turn to wind turbines and other renewable energy sources.
NdFeB rare earth magnets have already become integral components of our everyday lives. They also hold the key to unlocking a high-tech, low-carbon, electric future, but only if we can overcome the roadblocks that stand in the way of meeting consistently increasing demand:
China currently dominates the global supply chain for rare earth elements and magnet manufacturing. Starting in the 1970s, China began ramping up its rare earth manufacturing capabilities with the goal of gaining political power. By 1995, two Chinese firms had bought Magnequench, the first rare earth magnet manufacturing company founded by General Motors following Croat’s invention of the NdFeB magnet in the 1980s. In 2000, the factory was formally moved overseas to China.
Rare earth elements are a finite resource. Mining, separating, and processing rare earth elements for commercial uses is also energy intensive and comes with its own environmental consequences, such as toxic waste byproducts.
Rare Earth Magnets in the 21st Century
Looking Ahead: Meeting the Demands of an Electric Future
Rare earth magnets and the critical materials used to manufacture them have become integral to modern society and an essential component for building a more sustainable future. The next biggest challenge confronting the rare earth industry is establishing a secure domestic supply chain that can meet the demands of an electric future without further harming our planet -- but the good news is, we’re already well on our way there.
The latest breakthrough in rare earth chemistry was pioneered by Noveon’s very own Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Miha Zaktonik, who developed unique technology for harvesting end-of-life rare earth magnetic material that can be recycled to manufacture new NdFeB magnets even stronger than those they replace. Scientists around the world have been researching potential recycling solutions for end-of-life rare earth magnetic material for decades, however, Dr. Zaktonik’s M2M technology is currently the only method that can successfully manufacture NdFeB magnets from recycled sources without compromising performance.
This innovative recycling technology has allowed Noveon to develop a circular economy for rare earth magnets that bypasses both the supply chain and environmental challenges facing the industry. But beyond that, by ramping up production of our EcoFlux NdFeB magnets--whether from mined or recycled materials--at our headquarters in San Marcos, Texas, we’re also helping to reduce reliance on China and establish a domestic rare earth supply chain here in the U.S.
Our ever-growing understanding of rare earth elements and magnets has paved the way for major advances in human innovation since 1788, and will continue to shape our world for centuries to come. Much of the history of rare earth elements remains unwritten, but Noveon is proud to be doing our part to usher in the next chapter.