NEOHIRE

NEOHIRE

Financed by

European Commission

Programa: H2020-EU.2.1.3.

Número de expediente: 720838

Partners

  • Ceit (Coordinator)

  • UNIVERSIDAD DEL PAIS VASCO/ EUSKAL HERRIKO UNIBERTSITATEA

  • THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM

  • FRAUNHOFER GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FOERDERUNG DER ANGEWANDTEN 
    FORSCHUNG E.V.

  • FUNDACION CIDAUT

  • KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN

  • AICHI SEIKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA

  • KOLEKTOR MAGNET TECHNOLOGY GMBH

  • UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE

  • INDAR ELECTRIC SL

Summary

The Neohire project emerged from the need to meet the demands for electricity in Europe through the year 2050. Regarding NdFeB PM technology for WT, it is still necessary to break through 3 important barriers: Strong dependence on China for supply and high price of REE present in PM, high difficulty of substitution of REE in PM, and technical and economic barriers that avoid establishing commercially viable, large-scale REE recycling framework.

In this context, NEOHIRE main objective is to reduce the use of REE, and Co and Ga, in WTG. This objective is mainly achieved through the development of: a) New concept of bonded NdFeB magnets able to substitute the present state-of-the-art sintered magnets for WT, and b) New recycling techniques for these CRM from the future and current PM wastes. In this way, the EU external demand of REE and CRM for PM in WTG will be reduced in a 50%.

The specific objectives are:

  • To develop a new NdFeB material solution that reduces the use REE and CRM amount in PM for WTG (100% of HRE, 30% of LRE Nd/Pr, and 100% of CRM Co and Ga).

  • To increase the deliverable electric power in wind power electric generators from current 2.74 MW to 3.56 MW per 1Tn of REE owing to novel electric machine designs.

  • To research and develop two recycling processes to highly increase the CRM recycling rates in NdFeB PM wastes for sintered PM from current WT (increase from 0 to 70% the recovered Nd, separate 100% of Dy and recover 90% of Co) and novel Bonded NEOHIRE PM (recycling almost 95% of Nd).

  • To achieve an economic and technically feasible large-scale framework for NdFeB PM commercial recycling.

  • To ensure the economic and technical sustainability of NdFeB resin-bonded PM developed technologies.

Ceit's role in the project

Ceit researcher José Manuel Martín (Metallic Powders Group) is serving as the project’s lead coordinator and head of the production and characterization of magnetic powders, while Miguel Martínez-Iturralde (Electric Vehicle and Smart Grids Group) is in charge of designing the active parts of a full-scale wind turbine generator.