Rendering-3D - Mission

The RENDERING-3D project aims to develop the scientific and technical base, from which a circular economy of rare earth-based permanent magnets can be built. The target is to investigate a sustainable route to fabricate new permanent magnets from End-of-Life (EoL) products using processes with reduced or null environmental impact with respect to the production of new magnets.

The critical problem associated with permanent magnets, particularly those that are rare-earth-based, is multifaceted and can be distilled into several key issues:

Resource Scarcity and Geopolitical Concentration: The rare-earth elements (REEs) necessary for the production of high-performance permanent magnets, such as NdFeB magnets, are not evenly distributed across the Earth's crust. The majority of these resources are located in a handful of countries, with China dominating the market. This geopolitical concentration poses significant risks to supply chains, especially for regions like the European Union, which is heavily dependent on imports.
Environmental and Economic Sustainability: The extraction and processing of REEs are energy-intensive and environmentally detrimental, involving significant carbon emissions and potential pollution. Moreover, the rising costs of REEs due to market fluctuations and increased demand exacerbate the economic challenges of producing permanent magnets. This situation is unsustainable in the long term, both environmentally and economically.
Recycling and Recovery: Despite the high value of REEs and the critical nature of permanent magnets in various technological applications, the current rate of recycling for EoL REE-based permanent magnets is abysmally low. This is primarily due to the technical difficulties and economic disadvantages associated with the recycling process compared to the procurement of virgin materials.

The general aim outlined above requires the achievement of different specific goals in three different fields: Processes, Materials and Products.

Processes

Milling of EoL permanent magnets while preserving their magnetic performance;
obtaining homogeneous dispersion of the magnetic powder in a biodegradable thermoplastic polymer (e.g., polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, polybutylene succinate or copolymers);
producing sintered magnets from milled EoL NdFeB magnets;
manufacturing 3D-printed bonded permanent magnets, including prototyping and in-field printing.

Materials

micrometer magnetic powders that preserve the magnetic performance of the source material;
homogeneous magnetic polymer composites for 3D printing.

Products

sintered isotropic and anisotropic permanent magnets;
3D-printed isotropic and anisotropic bonded magnets with customized near-net shapes.