Susmagpro partners

Short description

The University of Birmingham is ranked in the top 100 universities worldwide. The University’s Magnetic Materials Group (MMG) from The School of Metallurgy and Materials has a 35-year track record in the processing and development of rare earth based magnetic materials, and more recently in recycling of rare earth magnets. The group has published over 400 papers on rare earth based magnetic materials and is recognised as a centre of excellence throughout the world. The group trains people in the processing and characterisation of rare earth magnets, and has developed and patented the Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) for the recovery and recycling of NdFeB magnets from scrap electronic devices.

Main roles in the project

UoB’s main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to operate a triage system for assessment of incoming magnetic scrap in order to determine the processing steps required for each type of material;
• to build a pilot scale Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) reactor capable of processing a new range of scrap sources; and
• to incorporate facilities in this pilot to enable the production of recycled magnet powder, sintered magnets, cast alloys and coating technology.
• Hosting a pilot for recycling / recovery: Disassembly of new forms of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) scrap & HPMS treatment

Hosting a pilot for recycling / recovery: Disassembly of new forms of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) scrap & HPMS treatment

Main Contact

Prof. Allan Walton
Professor of Critical and Magnetic Materials and Co-Director of the Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements and Critical Materials

Email

Short description

Stena Recycling International is a daughter company of Stena Metall AB, which is a family owned recycling company operating in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Germany and Italy. The group has long experience in the recycling of waste of electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), end-of-life vehicles (ELV) and other industrial waste, all containing lots of magnets, and is also conducting R&D as well.

Main roles in the project

SRI is responsible for the collection and assessment of magnet containing scrap, and for documenting the location and type of magnet. More in particular, SRI works closely with the SUSMAGPRO Partners RISE and INSERMA to facilitate the installation of the sorting and pre-processing systems at SRI’s facilities.

Hosting a pilot for recycling / recovery: Automated sorting of WEEE scrap & Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) treatment

Main Contact

Björn Hall
Project Manager

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Short description

RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) is a state-owned research institute that offers unique expertise and about 100 testbeds and demonstration facilities. As an international partner for R&D and innovation with industry, academia and the public sector, RISE ensures the competitiveness of the business community and contributes to a sustainable society.
The unit RISE Sensor Systems focuses on future-proofing technologies, products and services, and is active within the field of electronics, optics, communication techniques and sensor systems, with a long experience in magnetic materials and advanced sensors to perform magnetic analysis of magnetic materials especially magnetic nanoparticles.

Main roles in the project

RISE’s main roles in SUSMAGPRO are to design, construct and evaluate sensor systems (magnetic, eddy current, optical, LIBS etc.), including both hardware and software, that detect the presence and position of magnetic material in the scrap. The measurements systems enable fast on-line and contactless analysis of material flows. The sensor systems are integrated with segregation and separation stages to form automated separation systems.

Main Contact

Dr. Jakob Blomgren
Research Scientist

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Short description

INSERMA ANOIA is an engineering and service company with over 25 years of experience in industrial maintenance, heavy machinery electronics, systems engineering, process engineering, electronic engineering, and software engineering. Their in-house work includes end-to-end engineering tasks, including prototyping.

Main roles in the project

INSERMA is providing experience in metal and magnetic detection, sorting and robotics systems. INSERMA is designing and building an automated sorting system integrating the sensing systems developed by RISE. INSERMA is also implementing new concepts and technologies in virtual reality and the design of Serious Games.

Main Contact

Francisco Ortiz
Technology Manager

Email

Short description

Less Common Metals is a world leader in the manufacture and supply of rare earth based alloys and other vacuum induction melted alloys as well as high purity metals. They have over 26 years of experience in the production of materials to tight compositional tolerances and controlled microstructures. Less Common Metals has participated in a number of other EU projects, and the company’s main products include Neodymium Iron Boron and Samarium Cobalt alloys for the permanent magnet industry. They also produce other rare earth alloys, including magnetocaloric and magnetostrictive materials, hydrogen storage systems, ultra-high purity indium. master alloys, and high-purity rare earth alloys.

Main roles in the project

Less Common Metals’ main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to recast the recycled NdFeB powders produced from the Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) and large sintered NdFeB blocks extracted from end-of-life wind turbines; and
• to provide chemical composition analysis including ICP (Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) and LECO (combustion analysis) for all of the material flow in the project.

Hosting a reprocessing route: Re-casting of HPMS powders and purification

Main Contact

Kagya Nyanin
Technical Manager

Email

Short description

MIMPlus Technologies is a member of the OBE Group, a family owned private company that was founded in 1904 as a manufacturer of high precision parts for the spectacles industry, especially hinges. The company’s metal injection moulding technology (MIM) has been carried out since 1997, developing and producing MIM parts for a wide range of automotive, medical, aerospace and industrial applications. MIMplus Technologies is well-equipped with laboratories for performing work in metal injection moulding, 3D printing of green parts, mechanical and metallurgical analysis, feedstock development and manufacturing, equipment for characterization of precision parts as well as a tool shop for injection moulding tools. MIMplus Technologies has more than 23 years experience in development and production of complex metal parts by injection molding, and have several years of experience as part of large-scale EU funded projects.

Main roles in the project

MIMplus Technologies’ main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to build a smaller Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) reactor in line with the existing system at the SUSMAGPRO partner University of Birmingham (5 kg), used for recycling scrap sources;
• to integrate this reactor in a glovebox for direct feed into the extruder for the MIM process; and
• to assist in the segregation of the material from scrap electronics.

Hosting a pilot for recycling / recovery: HPMS treatment of WEEE magnets with integrated SDS (shaping-debinding-sintering) feedstock production

Hosting a reprocessing route: SDS processing of HPMS powders (shaping by injection moulding)

Main Contact

Dr. Johannes Maurath
R&D Engineer

Email

Short description

MAGNETI Ljubljana is a privately owned SME with more than 65 years of experience in magnet production and one of the last companies in Europe making permanent magnets with casting and sintering technology. Currently, MAGNETI is a worldwide supplier of AlNiCo, SmCo, sintered NdFeB magnets, polymer bonded magnets and magnetic systems. All magnets and magnetic systems are manufactured in the Slovenian plant of Ljubljana, mainly for the automotive sector, low/high voltage products, special motors, railway transport, aircraft and aerospace. The company has many large clients worldwide and a strong research and technology department working with clients on the full development cycle of magnets and their production. The company is constantly investing in development and research projects with international partners, and participating in international and EU funded projects. The company is fully certificated with among others, IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSA 18001.

Main roles in the project

MAGNETI’s main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to build a pilot plant at their facility in Ljubljana to perform the Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) and produce large batches of recycled sintered magnets; and
• to characterize the recycled magnets for input into the datasheets.

Hosting a pilot for recycling / recovery: HPMS treatment of hard disk drive (HDD) scrap and production scrap

Hosting a reprocessing route: Sintering of Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) powders with and without blending (NdH2 / alloy powders)

Main Contact

Dr. Milana Karajić
R&D

Email

Short description

Kolektor Magnet Technology is one of the leading companies worldwide for the production of polymer bonded magnets. They have extensive experience in the production of all types of plastic-bonded permanent magnets has been continually growing. The company’s product portfolio of polymer bonded magnets includes SmFeN, NdFeB, hybrid magnets and complete assemblies produced by the facility in Essen, Germany. Kolektor has an excellent track record as the primary polymer bonded magnets producer in Europe, and also as a global supplier, utilizing a widely spread network of marketing companies throughout Europe, the USA, and in Asia. The company’s core operation comprises of research and development, production and marketing of permanent magnets, and the production of complex systems. Kolektor’s polymer-bonded parts are used mainly in electrical motors for power tools, household appliances and the automotive industry.

Update January 2021: Kolektor Magnet Technology has moved their production from Essen, Germany, to Idrija, Slovenia

Main roles in the project

KMT’s main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to produce bonded recycled magnets using injection moulding techniques;
• to characterise the recycled magnets for input into the datasheets; and
• to make an assessment of suitability of using recycled powder for entry into manufacturing process for polymer bonded magnets.

Hosting a reprocessing route: Hydrogen Decrepitation Deabsorbation Recombination (HDDR) of Hydrogen-based Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) powders and making into polymer bonded magnets

Main Contact

Dr. Boris Saje
Application Engineer

Email

Short description

ZF is one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide and a global leader in driveline and chassis (vehicle framing) technology as well as active and passive safety technology, with approximately 230 locations in some 40 countries. ZF’s main focus as a company is to enable vehicles to see, think, and act. Their business units are assigned to six divisions: Car Powertrain Technology, Car Chassis Technology, Commercial Vehicle Technology, Industrial Technology, E-Mobility and Active & Passive Safety Technology. ZF is advancing mobility and services for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology applications, and invests six percent of its annual sales in research and development.

Main roles in the project

ZF brings in its expertise in climate and environmental testing (I.e. Salt Spray Test, Temperature Shock, Oil Storage, High/Low Temperature tests) and test benches for electrical engines to discover efficiency and compatibility of the recycled magnets.

Main Contacts

ZF Germany
Volker Jahns
Component Design Engineer

Email

ZF UK (TRW Ltd.)
Dr. David Moule
Technical Specialist – Electric Drives

Email

Short description

B&C Speakers is one of the largest loudspeaker transducer manufacturers for the Professional Audio and Musical Instruments market in the world. Listed in Borsa Italiana’s equity market (MTA) since 2007, B&C moved to the STAR segment in 2013. Investing strong efforts in R&D, the company designs and distributes components under its brand name, and in addition supplies OEM components to most of the top professional audio brands in the market. The company also sells its catalogue products through a network of distributors, with representation in more than 70 countries around the world. It currently has sales and distribution centers in the USA and Brazil.

Main role in the project

B&C’s main activity will be to build and test loudspeaker modules using injection moulded magnets and benchmarking the materials against primary magnets.

Main Contact

Filippo Bartolozzi
Research and Development

Email

Short description

Grundfos is a global leader in advanced pump solutions and a trendsetter in water technology. The company’s emphasis is on its contribution to global sustainability by pioneering technologies that improve quality of life for people and care for the planet. GRUNDFOS is known for its advanced pump solutions, and offers turn-key solutions to match the requirements of its customers. The company is also a trendsetter within water technology, and is an industry leader for water treatment and wastewater technologies. In terms of sustainability, the company creates product solutions to minimize waste, and works to limit its own and our customers’ CO2 emission levels.

Main roles in the project

GRUNDFOS’ main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to provide the end-of-life products collected through a special drive that has deployed in EU region, enabling to evaluate the process of collection, classification, disassembling and scrap handling for maximum recycling of the materials along with magnets made of REE materials;
• to classify materials for assembling and manufacturing of permanent magnet motors in pump applications; and
• to characterise the recycled material and validate procedures of to enable the recycled magnets to fit to the existing product portfolio without any additional investments

Main Contact

Dr. Badrinath Veluri
Materials and Process Specialist

Email

Short description

Bunting is a UK manufacturer and supplier of permanent magnet materials, magnetic assemblies, magnetising equipment, magnetic separators and metal detectors. The BME engineering team has several decades of experience in magnetics and materials, particularly with bonded materials. As an active supplier of permanent magnets, BME is ideally placed to distribute recycled permanent magnets into the marketplace, through its sales team and web-based distribution site. Bunting also supplies many other permanent magnet related products such as magnetic separation equipment, magnetic holding devices and catches and has considerable experience in taking new products to market.

Main role in the project

The partner BME is the largest online distributor of magnets in the EU (Bunting-Berkhamsted), giving maximum visibility to SUSMAGPRO products and a good market entry point, since magnets sold in this way require a minimum amount of specification.

Main Contact

Dr. Chris Riley
Group Magnetics Engineer

Email

Short description

The Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML), part of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University, conducts research and education in the multidisciplinary field of sustainability science, drawing from both the natural and social sciences. CML has two research departments: Environmental Biology, dealing with issues of biodiversity and sustainable land use, and Industrial Ecology, dealing with research into the development of tools for decision making on sustainable production and consumption. Both branches of the institute have ample experience with large EU-level projects, and have conducted both fundamental and policy-oriented research. The Industrial Ecology department is a pioneer in the development of Life Cycle Assessment, and the department has extensive expertise in the methodological development of tools like Life Cycle Sustainability Analysis, Life Cycle Costing, Material Flow Analysis and Environmentally Extended Input-Output analysis, as well as the application of these methods in a wide range of case-studies, from aquaculture to the recycling of concrete.

Main roles in the project

Leiden University’s main roles in SUSMAGPRO are:

• to conduct an ex-ante LCA on the technologies developed within the project;
• to collect relevant data and parameters the supply and demand of RE-materials; and
• based on the ex-ante LCA, to advise on the most environmentally promising technology development options.

Main Contact

Dr. René Kleijn
Director of Education/Associate professor

Email

Short description

FOTEC (Forschungs- und Technologietransfer) is the research subsidiary of the University of Applied Sciences in Wiener Neustadt. FOTEC was founded in 1998 and acts as an innovative high-tech research company with numerous partnerships with industry, universities and research institutes worldwide. The core competencies of its department Engineering Technologies are in product development, associated manufacturing processes, and as in component and material characterization. FOTEC particularly specialises in injection moulding and additive manufacturing technologies, and is an Austrian pioneer in Powder Injection Moulding. The company has gained fundamental knowledge about PIM of magnets, especially magnetic alignment during two previous large-scale projects that it participated in (MagnetoPIM (national –FFG) and REProMag (EU – H2020).

Main roles in the project

In SUSMAGPRO, FOTEC is responsible for designing injection moulding alignment tools to realize anisotropic metal-injection-moulded magnets with complex geometries.

Main Contact

Thomas Schlauf
Engineering Technologies Researcher

Email

Short description

Sennheiser Electronic is a private company leader in the research, development, production and sales of electro-acoustical products such as microphones, headphones, and loudspeakers. Sennheiser’s subsidiary company, Sennheiser Innovation AG ensures that designers, market researchers, business managers and engineers study and shape the themes of the future.  Overall, the company prides itself on working with reliability and integrity as the main foundation for its relations with business partners and employees. Sennheiser adheres to the Code of Conduct of the German Electrical and Electronics Industry to ensure sustainability in its business practices.

Main roles in the project

Due to unforeseen circumstances, SHR had to leave the SUSMAGPRO consortium at the beginning of 2021. 

SHR was planned as an end user in the project:

• to supply demonstrator specifications for a magnetic plate;
• to perform tests in order to evaluate the performance of the fabricated demonstrators;
• to contribute to the benchmarking of the produced magnet types by the project’s end users; and
• to determine the likely market and product segment where the recycled materials can be placed (e.g. loudspeakers and microphones).

Short description

Montanuniversitaet Leoben is a specialised technical university performing high-quality research in a wide range of technological areas like Mining, Materials Science and Polymer Technology and Processing. Services provided include basic and applied R&D for SMEs, for industry as well as for public institutions. Additionally, Montanuniversitaet Leoben participates in establishing national competence centres and research facilities. Numerous projects from EU-level down to small consulting or measurement services for companies have successfully been performed in the last 50 years.

Main roles in the project

MUL’s main roles in the project are:

• to develop feedstock materials for metal injection moulding (MIM) and extrusion; and
• to conduct mechanical and flow characterisation of the developed feedstocks.

Main Contact

Dr. Christian Kukla
Industrial Liaison Department / Associate Professor

Email

Short description

The Jožef Stefan Institute, named after the distinguished 19th-century physicist Jožef Stefan, is the leading Slovenian research organization. It is responsible for a broad spectrum of basic and applied research in the fields of natural sciences and technology, specialising in research in physics, chemistry and biochemistry, electronics and information science, nuclear technology, energy utilisation and environmental science. The Department for Nanostructured Materials (DNM) brings together an interdisciplinary group of scientists, which includes the Magnetic Group, whose qualifications match the research objectives of SUSMAGPRO.

Main roles in the project

In SUSMAGPRO, JSI contributes to the analyses for purified extracted magnetic material, the microstructural analyses of the SDS/extruded magnets and the powders issued from Hydrogen Decrepitation Desorption Recombination (HDDR), as well as the corrosion testing.

Main Contact

Prof. Dr. Spomenka Kobe
Scientific Advisor

Email

Short description

Steinbeis-Europa-Zentrum of the Steinbeis Innovation gGmbH belongs to the Steinbeis Foundation for Economic Promotion. The Foundation runs a network of Technology Transfer Centres mainly in Baden-Württemberg, but also in other regions in Germany and Europe. The main aim of the foundation is to bridge the gap between science and application, turning R&D results into an actual economic advantage, and making technology and management insights available to large companies, SMEs, and individual entrepreneurs alike. SEZ was founded in March 1990 and is a member of several EU-level networks, taking part in many European projects. The core activities of SEZ include giving assistance in the exploitation of research results, promoting transnational technology transfer, and stimulating and supporting the innovation process in industrial companies, especially SMEs. SEZ has also a vast experience in dissemination activities, organizing workshops, conferences and brokerage events for technology transfer.

Main roles in the project

In SUSMAGPRO, SEZ’s main roles are:

• to support research activities and the better dissemination and transfer of research and innovation at European level;
• to analyse and develop exploitation models for the project results;
• to develop and implement the awareness raising strategy for challenges addressed by the project among the general public and relevant stakeholders; and
• to support the coordinator

Main Contacts

Maëva Pratlong
Project Manager Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy

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Dr. Sandrine Doretto
Senior Project Manager Environmental technologies

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