HARMONY: Holistic Approach to enhance the Recyclability of rare-earth permanent Magnets Obtained from aNY waste stream

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HARMONY project aims at strengthening the independency and the competitiveness of European industry, enabling a resilience valuechain of raw materials by developing and validating at pilot scale an innovative, green and safe closed-loop recycling process of Rare EarthElements (REEs) from End-of-Life (EoL) NdFeB permanent magnets. The recycling loop encompasses the collection and dismantlingof EoL NdFeB magnets and WEEE scrap, the recovery of REE metals through an indirect recycling process, the production of recycledNdFeB powder via three direct recycling methods, the manufacturing of magnets from the recycled powder, and the validation of therecycled magnets in end-user applications. Collection and recycling steps will be implemented in 8 pilot plans reaching a final TRLof 6-7. The combination of direct and indirect recycling technologies will allow dealing with any scrap containing NdFeB in any form(sintered or bonded magnets). The recycled NdFeB magnets will be used in the same applications as the magnets made from primarypowder, since they will exhibit comparable properties. Additionally, they will be recyclable via the same routes. A Dissemination,Exploitation, and communication Master Plan (DECMP) will be developed to maximize the impact beyond the lifetime of HARMONYproject. HARMONY will build upon existing standards during the development of the novel products, ensuring compatibility with marketconditions and increasing transparency for prospective customers. The economic, environmental and social viability of these processeswill be demonstrated via Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA) and Life-Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA).Furthermore, social innovation including citizen dialogue, policy issues, standardization and ethics will be considered to overcome thenon-technological barriers that make difficult to introduce these novel technologies at the short term in the market.