Ionic Rare Earths Limited‘s (IonicRE) Board delivered an update on work at Ionic Technologies International Ltd’s (IonicTech) Belfast site in the UK and the development of a Magnet Recycling Demonstration Plant to scale up the technology.
IonicTech is a wholly owned subsidiary in Belfast that IonicRE acquired in H1 2022 (formerly Seren Technologies Ltd). IonicTech established rare earth element separation and refining technology, which it used to recycle used permanent Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets. The method extracts rare earth elements (REE) via a hydrometallurgical process, then separates the individual magnet REEs within – Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Dysprosium (Dy), and Terbium (Tb), and lastly refines to high purity individual magnet rare earths oxides (REO).
IonicTech received a £1.72 million grant from the UK Government’s Innovate UK Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) program to develop a demonstration-scale magnet recycling plant, an essential milestone towards securing the UK supply of rare earth metals for EV manufacture. The Magnet Recycling Demonstration Plant is a scale-up of the successful pilot plant campaigns done to date, and it will give more data for the construction of a commercial facility(s).
Most of the Demonstration Plant equipment was delivered to the Belfast location during Q1 2023, where it is currently being erected, and hydrostatic testing of vessels has begun. Commissioning is proceeding according to plan, and process commissioning will begin in April.
The Company has already sourced more than 40 tonnes of NdFeB permanent magnets from wind turbines, EV motors, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners, other applications, and swarf from alloy and magnet manufacturing to provide a diverse feedstock range for Demonstration Plant trials.
The variable magnet REE content in the feedstock materials, with fluctuating compositions of magnet REEs – Nd, Pr, Dy, and Tb- and other REE detected in the magnets following analysis – will offer IonicTech with a solid foundation for demonstrating the technology’s advantages. In contrast to many other recycling technologies, the IonicTech magnet recycling process is agnostic to magnet quality, can process oxidised magnets, and can manage coatings and films to produce individually separated and refined high-purity REOs, which is piquing the interest of potential downstream users.
During the previous quarter, IonicTech also concentrated on establishing the Health and Safety systems, including completing many safety best practice processes in anticipation of the demonstration plant installation, commissioning, and operation.
Furthermore, the IonicTech team in Belfast is expanding with the addition of technical and operational roles to support the work programs, with commissioning ramping up towards the start of production and additional capability scheduled to be added in the coming quarter.
IonicRE Managing Director Tim Harrison stated that Belfast had made significant progress since my previous visit in November. Harrison said the company is sure that full commissioning will be completed on time now that the equipment has been delivered and installed, and I expect to see REO production this quarter.
“The successful commissioning of the Magnet Recycling Demonstration Plant at our Belfast facility will be a key catalyst for the Company in being able to establish meaningful supply chain partnerships in value addition for the magnet REOs we will produce in Belfast. Our engagement with metal and alloy manufacturers is progressing, and we expect to be able to deliver inventory of separated magnet REOs for further value addition in the third quarter of this year,” Harrison added.
According to him, with the recent European Critical Raw Material Act and the Company’s intention to source 15% of these newly called Strategic Raw Materials, IonicRe continue to field additional enquiries on the technology. He said the ability to quickly deploy modular technology appeals to Western markets seeking to build local, secure, and sustainable supply chains from secondary sources via recycling.
