Functional Recycling and Reuse of Nd–Fe–B Permanent Magnets from Various Waste Streams for a more Sustainable and Resilient Electromobility

Abstract

The feasibility of using recycled magnets in e-mobility applications such as Pedelecs, e-Scooters, and Hoverboards is being investigated with regard to their performance and recyclability. For this, a variety of end-of-life (EoL) magnet waste streams serve as feedstock for the production of recycled magnets which should then meet the necessary specifications for use in the above applications. After the production of a large number of such recycled magnets, these are installed in the demonstrators. Measurements on various test benches show that the demonstrators with recycled or reused magnets exhibit across the entire rotation speed range a similar or higher electromotive force or induced voltage as compared to their counterparts with primary magnets. While the e-Scooter motor achieves almost the same induced voltage (–0.7%) by using recycled magnets, the Hoverboard motor shows even an increased voltage of 6.7%. In the case of the Pedelec motor, the reuse of EoL-magnets leads to a voltage increase of 0.9% compared to the use of primary magnets. At the same time, an increased sustainability of these devices through a reduced CO₂ footprint can be achieved by the use of recycled or reused magnets.