At the 2025 Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) Workshop, co-organised by HaDEA and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Brussels, Benoît Richebé of Orano presented the latest developments from MAGELLAN during “Session 5 – Focus on Permanent Magnets”. The session gathered experts from research, policy, and industry to exchange on advances in rare-earth and permanent-magnet technologies across Europe.
MAGELLAN’s contribution centred on the development of Nd-Fe-B magnets containing 25 % recycled content, achieved through a short-loop magnet-to-alloy recycling route that reprocesses used magnets together with virgin feedstock to produce homogeneous alloys suitable for high-performance magnet production. This approach minimises oxygen contamination and variability compared with powder-based magnet-to-magnet routes while maintaining the magnetic quality required for traction-motor applications.
The presentation also addressed the technical and regulatory challenges to scaling magnet recycling in Europe, including the limited availability and variable quality of end-of-life magnets, the management of coating residues and impurities, and the need for consistent recovery channels. Benoît showcased how MAGELLAN’s partners are addressing these challenges by refining decoating, decontamination, and homogenisation processes to improve feedstock quality and by improving their collection and extraction processes to increase recovery efficiency.
