The use of rare earth elements (REE) is essential to the transition to a more climate-neutral, green Europe. Rare earths are used to produce high performance permanent magnets which are used in electromobility, green energy, sensor applications and other important industries.

There is enormous growth potential behind these applications. However, despite the increasing strength of these markets, Europe is completely dependent on imports for the magnetic material required for production.

The "REEsilience" project was launched with the aim of creating a robust and sustainable supply chain for magnetic materials made from rare earths in Europe. Together with the 16 project partners from ten European countries, various sub-goals are being pursued in order to advance the overall project. One of these goals is the planning and development of a production system for the manufacture of rare earth magnets.

This industrial scale plant is developed for recycling magnet waste and producing new high-performance magnets from it. The individual production steps should be as highly automated as possible, with a focus on cost-effectiveness, sustainability and resource efficiency.

An understanding of the process is crucial for the planning and subsequent construction of such a system. In order to create this understanding, a test plant is to be set up on a smaller scale. The aim of this plant is both the further development of the manufacturing process with regard to the possible degree of automation of such a plant and the research and development of different compositions of magnetic alloys.

In the current course of the project, the Institute for Precious and Technology Metals at Pforzheim University is primarily involved in planning the pilot plant. Decisive factors in the planning of this plant are the necessary process steps and the system technology required for this. However, the production environment must also be carefully considered during planning. The focus of the planning is therefore on the design and procurement of the necessary equipment as well as the planning of the production environment.