A demonstration scale magnet recycling plant towards securing the UK supply of critical rare earth metals for EV manufacture

全球对稀土磁铁的需求预计将在未来5年内迅速超过供应，预计80%以上的电动汽车将使用稀土金属永磁体。对全球稀土开采项目开发管道的审查表明，磁性稀土（即Nd、Pr、Tb和Dy）的未来供应将无法满足，因为许多项目具有与矿物学、技术或环境方面有关的限制。磁性稀土供需之间的剩余缺口将需要——至少部分地——通过回收废稀土磁铁来弥补。目前，最普遍的稀土磁体回收途径是出口到已建立的稀土精炼加工厂进行再加工。迄今为止，这是一种可以接受的选择，尽管效率低下，但运营商越来越意识到其局限性，包括地缘战略风险、额外关税和关税，以及采用具有显著碳足迹和环境足迹的炼油实践。从磁体中回收稀土的其他方法包括氢衰法等工艺。这种工艺通常不允许生产高质量的磁铁，研究表明，这些磁铁不适合部署在电动汽车或风力涡轮机上。seen开发了一种基于离子液体的稀土分离和净化技术，用于从磁铁中回收稀土。公司技术发达，研发进步，具有技术经济资质。该公司的下一步是着手建设和运营一个示范工厂，以(a)为客户提供大规模的样品资格，(b)降低技术风险，以确保投资建设一个全面的工厂。

Global demand for rare earth magnets is expected to rapidly outpace supply within the next 5 years with upwards of 80% of EVs projected to use rare earth metal permanent magnets. Review of the global rare earth mining project development pipeline indicates that future supply of magnet rare earths -- namely Nd, Pr, Tb and Dy -- will not be met owing to many projects having limitations associated with mineralogical, technical or environmental aspects. The residual shortfall between magnet rare earth supply and demand will need to be -- at least in part -- fulfilled by recycling of spent rare earth magnets.Currently, the most widely practiced route for recycling rare earth magnets is to export for re-processing in an established rare earth refining process plant. This has been a tolerable albeit inefficient option to date, and the operators are becoming increasingly conscious of its limitations which include geostrategic risks, exposure to additional tariffs and duties, and the application of refining practices that have a significant carbon and environmental footprint. Other methods for the recycling of rare earths from magnets includes processes such as hydrogen decrepitation. Such processes generally do not allow production of high-quality magnets and research has shown these are not suitable for deployment in electric vehicles or wind turbines.Seren has developed a rare earth separation and purification technology -- based on the use of ionic liquids -- for the recovery of rare earths from magnets. The company has developed the technology and progressed through research and development, and techno-economic qualification. The next step for the company is to embark on construction and operation of a demonstration plant to (a) provide large-scale samples for customer qualification and (b) to de-risk the technology to secure investment for construction of a full-scale plant.