Ionic Rare Earths (ASX: IXR) subsidiary Ionic Technologies has partnered with Less Common Metals, GKN, and Ford UK to showcase a circular supply chain for high-performance electric motor rare earth permanent magnets (REPM).
The technology is enabled by Ionic’s long-loop recycling process, which uses a hydrometallurgical process to extract rare earths such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium and refine them into individual, high-purity rare earth oxides (REOs) with over 99.5% purity.
The recyled material behaves in the same way as flakes made from mined material during manufacture and is made into finished magnets at GKN’s manufacturing site in Germany.
Ionic’s successful testing completes the ground-breaking CLIMATES initiative, which fostered 36 projects to develop circular rare earth element supply chain improvements.
The UK government supported CLIMATES via the Department for Business and Trade and InnovateUK.
High-Specification Magnets
The project showed that REOs produced using Ionic’s proprietary technology are appropriate for use in high-specification magnets.
This is seen as a significant step towards achieving the UK’s goal of reducing its over-reliance on foreign imports of critical minerals, protecting it from shortages in global shocks and shoring up supply chains.
The long-loop recycling method proves that Ionic’s process can provide a reliable source of REOs for automotive magnet production, which is key to the UK’s commitment to a clean energy future.
It will enable a UK-orientated holistic service that can deliver magnets equivalent to the existing supply chain.
First-in-Kind Supply Chain
Ionic Rare Earths managing director Tim Harrison said the ground-breaking project demonstrated a first-in-kind supply chain for e-motor magnets.
“Utilising made-in-Belfast technology, Ionic Technologies was the first producer of recycled, individually separated magnet REOs in the Western world,” he said.
“This project proves that our long-loop recycling technology can contribute to western supply chains for the most demanding applications.”
“We have demonstrated that a circular supply chain is not just a good idea, it is something that we can enable right now from our demonstration plant in Belfast that […] can form the basis of a commercial plant.”
The company is continuing discussions with potential strategic investors to secure the remaining required equity capital for the £85 million project to support FID for the commercial plant.
Prescient Stakeholder Participation
Mr Harrison credited the stakeholders who contributed to the project.
“It took tremendous vision for Ford to participate in this project at a time when global supply chains were more stable, and it has proven to be a masterstroke given recent events,” he said.
Ford’s Dennis Witt said his company was “proud to have been part of this groundbreaking project for the UK’s clean energy future”.
“While this is currently a testing project rather than mass production, it confirms that a circular supply chain for rare earth elements is a reality, offering a sustainable path forward without compromising vehicle performance,” he added
Less Common Metals general manager Aaron Riley called the achievement “a real technical milestone”.
“LCM has spent decades perfecting the metallurgy that makes high-performance magnets possible, and this project shows the bar can also be met with recycled inputs.
