Demagnetisation and preparation of end-of-life high performance magnets for reprocessing Copy Link

Ionic Technologies was developed at Queens University Belfast (QUB) world leading QUILL Research Centre, the oldest and most established centre dedicated to studying ionic liquids.

Working alongside recycling companies and metal alloy producers, Ionic Technologies are recycling high specification permanent magnets and magnet swarf, and have recently opened a 30 tonne/yr. demonstration plant located in the Titanic Quarter, Belfast. The process is agnostic on feedstock magnet quality and can accommodate variability in feed composition.

Renewable energy generation and e-mobility are 2 important markets with an increasingly heavy demand for critical materials. For example there is an average of 5kg of rare earth magnets in a Battery Electric Vehicle and an average of 650kg/MW of rare earth magnets in Offshore Wind Turbines. 
The ever-increasing demand for these materials is geopolitically interesting as the UK looks to ensure security of supply, and while looking to build on existing relationships with mineral rich producer countries, we also believe that the UK has a role to play in the secondary supply chain with its heritage in minerals and mining, but also its world-leading research and innovation on critical mineral extraction, processing and recycling.