HPMS Technology
Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (“HPMS”)
HPMS is a patented technology that was developed at the University of Birmingham (UoB), and is exclusively licensed to HyProMag.
HPMS offers a unique solution to the critical problem in the recycling of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare earth magnets, as it allows for the magnets to be recovered from end-of-life components and manufacturing scrap on a large scale, whilst the magnets are still embedded in-situ (>400kg+).
The hydrogen converts the magnets to an NdFeB alloy powder in the process; which is both liberated from its component, and demagnetised in the reaction. Hydrogen reacts with the neodymium-rich grain boundary phase within the NdFeB alloy’s microstructure, creating a volume expansion which causes the magnet to decrepitate.
The alloy powder is then purified so that it can be re-manufactured directly into new sintered NdFeB magnets, at a fraction of the cost and environmental footprint compared to primary production of magnets, or conventional chemical recycling processes.
HyProMag generates its feedstock material for magnet manufacturing utilising HPMS – and is also able to feed material into other recycling routes such as long-loop chemical recycling and medium-loop remelting processes.
HPMS Development
HPMS has been developed from lab-scale at the UoB and is now deployed commercially at the magnet recycling and manufacturing facility at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham, UK, and at the HyProMag facility in Pforzheim, Germany. HPMS will also be employed at HyProMag USA’s facility in Dallas Fort Worth.
The HPMS reactor has evolved through the technological readiness levels (TRLs), through concept phase, bench-scale, lab-scale, pilot-scale, and to full commercial-scale.
Lab-scale HPMS reactor
Pilot HPMS reactor
Commercial HPMS reactor
The commercialisation of HPMS technology is the culmination of many years of R&D and technology refinement at the UoB and HyProMag. Reactor capacity has successfully scaled 400x from the initial batch input capacity of 5 kg to the 2,000 kg achieved with commercial HPMS reactors.
The technology provides a unique and commercially-proven solution to the key challenges in rare earth magnet recycling, and serves as the feedstock generation solution for HyProMag’s NdFeB magnet manufacturing.
Magnet Manufacturing
The recycled NdFeB alloy powder generated through HPMS is primarily utilised for the remanufacture of NdFeB magnets. The alloy powder is processed through mechanical sieving, before being purified further through conventional magnet manufacturing processes such as milling, pressing, and sintering, ahead of finishing steps to meet our customer specifications.
