Growing Inventory of Scrap NdFeB Magnets Drives Demand for Recycling
Type: News Repost
> This article is reposted by the AIC Engineering team. Copyright belongs to the original author. The original link is provided in the "Sources" section at the end.
Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets are characterized by high magnetic energy product, high coercivity, and high energy density. They are extensively applied in drive motors for new energy vehicles (NEVs), wind turbine generators, electronic information systems, industrial robots, and medical equipment. Concurrently, the inventory of scrap NdFeB magnets is accumulating rapidly, driving a continuous release of demand for their recycling and recovery.
The recycling of scrap NdFeB magnets refers to the process of extracting valuable materials from production offcuts, end-of-life permanent magnet motors, and electronic components containing NdFeB. Through technical methods such as physical dismantling, chemical separation, and metallurgical purification, rare earth elements—including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—are recovered alongside base metals like iron and boron. This process enables the high-value regeneration and reuse of critical materials.
Scrap NdFeB magnets contain significant concentrations of rare earth and iron elements, making them highly valuable secondary resources. Their efficient recycling is of major significance for alleviating rare earth resource shortages and reducing environmental pollution. According to the 2026-2030 Global and China Scrap NdFeB Magnet Recycling Industry Research and 15th Five-Year Plan Analysis Report published by the Newsijie Industry Research Center, the rare earth element content in scrap NdFeB magnets (reaching up to 30%) is substantially higher than the grade of primary ores (approximately 4%). Meanwhile, China’s rare earth reserves are declining year by year, and mining quotas remain strictly limited. On the other hand, the stockpile of scrap NdFeB magnets continues to grow as early-installed wind power capacity and new energy vehicles gradually enter their end-of-life cycles. It is projected that by 2034, the volume of scrap NdFeB magnets from decommissioned wind turbine generators will reach 5,000 metric tons.
Current technological routes for recycling scrap NdFeB magnets include selective chlorination, slag-metal dissolution, liquid alloy processing, full dissolution extraction, hydrochloric acid preferential dissolution, and hydrogen decrepitation (HDDR). Recycling technologies are continuously being optimized and advanced. For instance, a research team from the School of Metallurgy at Northeastern University has proposed a novel recovery process combining fluoride reduction with vacuum distillation, which reportedly enables zero-wastewater and comprehensive resource recovery from end-of-life NdFeB permanent magnets. Separately, a team at Rice University in the United States has utilized flash Joule heating (FJH) combined with chlorine treatment for scrap NdFeB processing, a method that significantly reduces energy consumption and operational costs compared to traditional wet metallurgical processes.
Enterprises actively deploying in the scrap NdFeB magnet recycling sector include the UK’s HyProMag, the US-based Flash Metals, China Northern Rare Earth, Huahong Technology, Minmetals Rare Earth, JL Mag, and Baogang Group. Huahong Technology, through its subsidiaries Xintai Technology and Jiangxi Wanhong, has established an annual processing capacity of 60,000 metric tons of NdFeB scrap. In January 2026, Baogang Group initiated trial production of a 4,000-ton automated recycling line for NdFeB scrap, which is designed to process approximately 20,000 metric tons of scrap annually.
Industry analysts at Newsijie note that the recycling of scrap NdFeB magnets represents a critical link in the circular economy of rare earth resources. Against the backdrop of increasing scrap inventories and rigid constraints on primary rare earth supply, the strategic importance of NdFeB recycling is being rapidly reassessed. In recent years, leading enterprises have been constructing comprehensive barriers spanning from collection and recycling to remanufacturing. Consequently, the industrial scale of scrap NdFeB magnet recycling continues to expand.
Sources
- Newsijie Industry Research Center (2 weeks ago)
- Original Article Link: Growing Inventory of Scrap NdFeB Magnets Drives Demand for Recycling