More NdFeB magnet recycling can help fill the impending supply gap
In addition to greater use of cerium, lanthanum, gadolinium and holmium in NdFeB magnets to help ration magnet rare earth oxide supplies, a greater global effort to recover and recycle NdFeB magnets from end-of-life devices can also play a meaningful role in helping to satisfy demand in the years ahead.
In addition to greater use of cerium, lanthanum, gadolinium and holmium in NdFeB magnets to help ration magnet rare earth oxide supplies, a greater global effort to recover and recycle NdFeB magnets from end-of-life devices can also play a meaningful role in helping to satisfy demand in the years ahead.
Adamas analysis projects that in 2035 alone, around 200,000 tonnes of NdFeB magnets will be entering waste streams globally:
- 45,000 tonnes from end-of-life consumer electronics,
- 30,000 tonnes from end-of-life EV traction motors,
- 25,000 tonnes from end-of-life consumer appliances and cordless powertools,
- 25,000 tonnes from end-of-life automotive micromotors, sensors and loudspeakers,
- 25,000 tonnes from end-of-life electric bikes, motorcycles and other e-mobility types,
- 15,000 tonnes in end-of-life industrial applications,
- 15,000 tonnes from end-of-life wind power generators, and
- 15,000 tonnes from other end-of-life devices, namely those in robotics, advanced air mobility, defense, and health and wellness segments.
Currently, we project that less than 25% of this total amount will be recycled annually by 2035. If this portion could be ambitiously increased to 40% to 50% it would make a very substantial contribution to global supply, equivalent to four-to-five Mountain Pass or Mt. Weld mines.
Towards that end, a growing number of companies in North America and Europe are looking to capitalize on rising demand for transparent, sustainable, alternative sources of magnet rare earth feedstock supplies through deployment and scale-up of innovative recycling technologies and solutions, including:
- Cyclic Materials
- Maginito Limited
- HyProMag
- Ionic Technologies
- Noveon Magnetics
- Rare Earth Salts
- REEcycle
- Heraeus Remloy
- Carester
- Others
Contact the Adamas team to learn more about emerging sources of rare earth supply from recycling.
More information?
Check our latest Rare Earth Magnet Market Outlook to 2040 annual report – the industry’s go-to reference for magnet market intelligence.
