Global leader in drive systems GKN Automotive has announced that it will collaborate to develop a circular supply chain for recycled rare-earth magnets as a partner in the SCREAM (Secure Critical Rare Earth Magnets for the UK) project.
A press release from the company said that its team will re-engineer a state-of-the-art 800v eDrive motor with recycled magnets produced by fellow partners in the consortium to test their performance and suitability in electric motors.
As part of the project, the company will test the new motor and magnet performance to verify performance and capability compared with virgin material and the original machine. The work will be undertaken as part of a £3.4m collaborative research and development project across the automotive, technology, and recycling industries.
SCREAM Project
SCREAM is part-funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge. It includes GKN Automotive, Mkango Rare Earths UK Ltd, HyProMag, Bowers & Wilkins, European Metal Recycling, Jaguar Land Rover and the University of Birmingham.
The project aims to establish a supply line of recycled magnets that can be used in a range of applications, including electric motors. The reuse of rare earth magnets in future electric motors will enable the driveline maker to improve product sustainability by reducing embedded emissions and the use of raw materials and lowering production costs.
Magnets will be recovered from end-of-life vehicles, robots, separators and loudspeakers and processed by Mkango and HyProMag in the UK before evaluation by GKN Automotive, Jaguar Land Rover and Bowers & Wilkins for product sustainability. Recycled magnets will be assessed for their magnetic, corrosion and mechanical performance and tested in various applications.
The development and test procedures will accurately reflect any differences in magnetic and mechanical performance between recycled magnets and virgin equivalents, using the world-class electric motor design, build and test capabilities at Abingdon’s GKN Automotive Innovation Centre.
The research, development and testing of electric motors will help the company on its journey to driving a cleaner, more sustainable world. It already powers more than 1.5 million electrified vehicles around the globe and aims to promote responsible sourcing across its supply chain.
Gordon Day, Managing Director, GKN Automotive Innovation Centre, said, “This leading research project, which brings together key industry leaders across multiple sectors, is vital to ensuring a secure and sustainable supply chain for next-generation electric powertrains. Rare earth magnets are a key component of electric motors and developing a robust solution for recovering and reusing them will help us reduce our environmental impact in the future.”
In addition to developing a new supply line of magnets for businesses in the UK, the project aims to reduce magnet production costs by 10% and significantly lower the environmental impact of the materials. Short loop magnet recycling is forecast to require an estimated 88% less energy versus existing magnet production. Pilot recycling and waste recovery plants will also be established as part of the project.