HyProMag Ltd

Hydrogen Processing of Magnetic Scrap

A new company licencing patented processing techniques developed in the

University of Birmingham School of Metallurgy and Materials.
 Why recycle rare earth magnets
• EU is estimated to import around 14,000 tonnes of NdFeB /
annum in products, almost all of which is from China.
• Economics of recycling become more favourable using a short
loop process.
• Potentially a much smaller environmental footprint than
primary, especially with short loop recycling.
• Provide a secure supply of materials for the UK and EU.
• The costs for building a recycling plant would be a fraction of
that required for primary production on a much shorter
timescale.
 Mine to magnet
Mine to Oxide Oxide to Metal

Mineral Mixed Separated Pure RE

concentrate chlorides oxides metals
Mining Beneficiation Chemical Solvent Electrolysis
Processing Extraction

NdFeB Magnet Recycling is

currently very limited and
almost exclusively involves Shaping / Magnet Casting
scrap being put back in at coating manufacture
the Chemical Processing or Sintered magnet
Solvent Extraction stages. Final product RE alloys
blocks
Short Loop Recycling allows
us to avoid not only these
stages but also Electrolysis Metal to Magnet
and Casting.
 Problems for recycling of rare earth magnets
• Identification of products which contain NdFeB magnets is not easy.

• NdFeB magnets are often very small (eg- 300mg in a mobile phone).

• The composition of the magnets is changing.

• The end of life magnets are usually coated and have a higher oxygen content
than primary alloys.

• Many magnets end up in recycling facilities that separate metals using

shredders and on shredding the magnets break apart and stick to the ferrous
scrap.

• Most products are not designed for disassembly.

• Economics for recycling are challenging.

• Supply chain is small in the EU.

 Products are not designed with recycling in mind

Hard disk drives Rotor from an automotive Mobile phones

drive motor
Current recycling processes are
not suitable for NdFeB
magnets

Shredded automotive motor

Shredded HDDs – courtesy of Axion
 Separation of NdFeB from VCM
Ni electroplate
Soft magnetic
Fe casing

Hydrided
NdFeB powder

Voice coil assembly Voice coil assembly after HD

extracted from hard drive process

Ni electroless plated
voice coil magnet
HPMS – HDD Voice Coil Magnet Assembly
 Use of hydrogen for separation

HDDs loaded into porous drum

Porous rotating stage inside vessel

 Extracted powders

Material extracted from Optical micrograph of a Sieving with ball bearings

tumbling stage (10 sectioned cross section through a HD has been used to
HDDs). processed sintered NdFeB preferentially break down
magnet particle the NdFeB compared to
the Ni and other impurities
 Incoming Further Stages of Sintered NdFeB Magnet Production.
components
Isostatically
Purified pressed / Uncoated
NdFeB aligned green sintered
powder compacts magnets

Material extracted
from porous drum

Milling/ Powder Pulse Align Vacuum Recycled

Sieving Blending & Press Sintering Sintered
Magnets
 Scale up
• University of Birmingham and HyProMag have secured
over £10 million to pilot the recycling processes
developed in the MMG.
• Building a pilot HPMS processing and sintering line in
the Plasma Building at the University of Birmingham
over the next 18 to 24 months.
• Site identified at Tyseley for full commercialization
beyond the initial scale up.
• HyProMag lead partner in two Innovate projects Location of new building Existing space
centred around developing HPMS processing.
• HyProMag have investment from Maginito, a
subsidiary of Mkango Resources and Talaxis.

Energy Generation Hydrogen production facility

Thank You