It’s been a quarter-century since the UK produced its own commercial rare earth magnets. But that dry spell ended today. Mkango Resources and HyProMag officially launched a new facility at Tyseley Energy Park, and it’s a pretty big step for local manufacturing.
These aren’t your average fridge magnets. We’re talking about high-powered rare earth magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, hard drives, and even smartphones. Until now, the UK has had to rely entirely on imports for these critical components.
This new facility changes that dynamic. It was opened by Chris McDonald MP and relies on a clever bit of science developed at the University of Birmingham.
Recovering Rare Earth Alloys For Magnets
The plant doesn’t dig new material out of the ground. Instead, it uses a technology called Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS). Basically, they use hydrogen to separate and recycle old magnets into a powder, which is then pressed into brand-new magnet blocks.
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William Dawes, Chief Executive of Mkango, explained, “This is a landmark achievement and transformational for rare earth supply chains, bringing back magnet manufacturing to the UK after 25 years, and is underpinned by a home-grown technology, HPMS, that not only delivers a cost advantage, but has a minimal carbon footprint.”
The output is significant. The facility can recover over 400kg of rare earth alloy per batch. On just a single shift, they can produce 100 tons of new magnets a year. If they push that to multiple shifts, they can hit over 300 tons.
A Global Expansion
This project fits into a larger plan. The UK Government wants to source 20% of its critical mineral demand through recycling by 2035. However, the technology isn’t staying local. HyProMag is already building a plant in Germany and working on a “Texas Hub” in the USA, with eyes on Japan and South Korea next.
It’s taken decades of research to get here. Allan Walton from the University of Birmingham said, “The first use of hydrogen for recycling of magnets was proposed by the late Emeritus Professor Rex Harris, who started the recycling activities in the group over 20 years ago.”
Now that the technology has moved from the lab to the factory floor, the focus is on expansion. Nick Mann, Managing Director of HyProMag, said, “Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap, exclusively licenced to HyProMag, gives us the method to extract magnets from end of life applications and recycle them into new magnets in a commercially viable and very low carbon process.”
