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

预计在未来5年内，全球对稀土磁体的需求将迅速超过供应，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流程的审查表明，由于许多项目受到矿物学、技术或环境方面的限制，未来的磁性稀土--即Nd、Pr、Tb和Dy--的供应将得不到满足。磁体稀土供需之间的剩余缺口将需要--至少部分--通过回收废稀土磁体来弥补。目前，回收稀土磁体最广泛的做法是出口到现有的稀土精炼加工厂进行再加工。到目前为止，这是一个可以容忍的选择，尽管效率低下，运营商越来越意识到它的局限性，包括地缘战略风险、面临额外的关税和关税，以及应用具有重大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爆等过程。这种工艺通常不允许生产高质量的磁铁，研究表明，这些工艺不适合用于电动汽车或风力涡轮机。Seren开发了一种基于离子液体的稀土分离和提纯技术，用于从磁铁中回收稀土。公司经过技术开发和技术经济鉴定，不断发展进步。该公司的下一步是着手建设和运营一座示范工厂，以(A)为客户资格鉴定提供大型样本，以及(B)降低技术风险，以确保投资建设一座全面的工厂。

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.