Ford Tests Recycled Rare Earth Magnets in Motor Rotor
Why this is here: The recycled magnets achieved 99.87% purity in neodymium oxide, exceeding the standards needed for electric vehicle motor production.
A UK consortium validated a fully recycled rare earth supply chain when Ford tested a motor rotor built with 100% recycled magnets at its Dunton, UK facility. Ionic Technologies in Belfast recycled magnets into rare earth oxides.
Less Common Metals then converted those oxides into alloy. GKN manufactured the magnets in Germany, and Ford assembled two test rotors at its Halewood plant.
One rotor successfully completed a durability test, matching performance of magnets made from mined materials. The recycled neodymium oxide reached 99.87% purity.
The consortium produced 120 kg of neodymium oxide, 10 kg of dysprosium oxide, and 8 kg of terbium oxide—meeting Less Common Metals’ minimum requirements. However, Ionic Technologies still needs a final investment decision and funding to build a commercial plant with a planned capacity of 400 metric tonnes per year. Further work continues under the CirculaREEconomy project.
Surfaced by the Solutions lens — one of the vital signs ovr.news reads.
How we evaluated this
AI summary
read the original for the full story — Read on chargedevs.com . How we work →