Magnet recycling begins in Birmingham

In an important step on the UK's path to a circular economy, commercial production of recycled rare earth magnets has begun at Birmingham's Tyseley Energy Park.  HyProMag Limited, in partnership with Mkango Resources Limited, are using technology spun out from the University of Birmingham that uses hydrogen to deliver an 88% energy saving and a 98% human toxicity saving when compared with primary production.

Initial throughput is targeted at 20 tpa in 2024 ramping up to 100 tpa in the subsequent months. This is the first time in over 20 years that sintered rare earth magnets have been produced commercially in the UK and comes at an important time of the energy transition, with the demand for rare earth magnets set to increase significantly in the coming years.  The ability to efficiently recycle rare earth magnets into commercially useful new magnets will see the UK being less reliant on overseas supplies of rare earth materials and also able to export this technology around the world.  This is an excellent example of how universities can build upon novel research to generate new technologies, resulting in highly skilled jobs as well as generally improving the world through technology.