Permanent magnets based on neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) are essential components of many green technologies. Due to global climate protection efforts, the demand for these high-tech components and the rare earths they contain is steadily rising. At the same time, their production is heavily concentrated in China. To improve Europe’s self-sufficiency, the GREENE research consortium, funded with $9 million in EU funds, has now been launched.
GREENE (short for SINGLE-GRAIN RE-ENGINEERED Nd-Fe-B PERMANENT MAGNETS) is a four-year project comprising 15 European partners from research and industry, coordinated by the Jožef Stefan Institute in Slovenia. The goal is to develop NdFeB magnets with a minimized overall rare earth content, thereby reducing both import dependence and the environmental impact of extracting these raw materials. In addition to rare earths, Europe also depends on imports for other components, such as boron, 99 percent of which is imported from Turkey. At the same time, the newly designed magnets are expected to be more powerful—despite NdFeB magnets already being considered the strongest permanent magnets in the world.
The participating institutions, including Slovenian magnet manufacturer Magnets Ljubljana, Germany-based Robert Bosch GmbH, and the start-up HyProMag, have already collaborated on previous projects such as SUSMAGPRO and REEsilience.
