New recycling facility will cut UK’s reliance on rare earth imports

A new facility in the West Midlands for separating and recycling rare earth magnets will help reduce the UK’s need to import these critical minerals.

Rare earth magnets form a vital part of technologies like wind turbines, electric vehicles, robotics and other electronics. 

The new facility, which was opened by industry minister Chris McDonald this week, uses a groundbreaking hydrogen-based process developed by University of Birmingham researchers. The process, called Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap, is an efficient method of extracting rare earth magnets from end-of-life products without needing to fully disassemble them. 

The new site at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham scales the process to commercial production levels, turning up to 400kg of rare earth alloy per batch into new sintered magnets at a fraction of the cost. It is the first sintered rare earth magnet facility in the UK for 25 years and delivers a CO₂ saving of around 90% compared with producing magnets from minerals extracted from the ground. 

McDonald said: “This new facility is great news for the West Midlands, which will help create hundreds of well-paid local jobs and is testament to our world-leading expertise in rare earth recycling. 

“This is our Critical Minerals Strategy in action, bringing sintered magnet manufacturing back to the UK for the first time in 25 years and backing innovative projects to boost our critical minerals supply chains and power the green industries of the future.” 

Professor Rachel O’Reilly of the University of Birmingham School of Chemistry said: “By developing complete circular solutions for the supply of critical minerals such as those found in rare earth magnets, the University of Birmingham is playing an essential role in helping the UK become a technological leader in this field. 

“Supported directly by the university itself and through the allocation of QR [quality-related research] funding from Research England and programme funding from UK Research and Innovation, this is a brilliant development of the UK’s competitive advantage. Opening the Birmingham magnet recycling facility highlights the vital role of university-led research and development in delivering industrial capabilities, and addressing national resilience and sustainability goals identified among the UK government’s strategic and societal priorities.” 

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