LONDON—GKN Automotive is participating in a new initiative to recycle rare-earth magnets used in electric vehicle traction motors. The SCREAM (Secure Critical Rare Earth Magnets for UK) project aims to improve sustainability, reduce the cost of rare-earth magnet recycling and slash magnet production costs by 10 percent.

GKN Automotive will re-engineer a state-of-the-art 800-volt eDrive motor with recycled magnets produced by fellow partners in the consortium to test their performance and suitability in EV motors. They will also study how the new motor and magnet compare to traditional materials and devices.

Recycled magnets will be assessed for their magnetic, corrosion and mechanical performance and tested in a variety of applications. The development and test procedures will accurately reflect any differences in magnetic and mechanical performance between recycled magnets and virgin equivalents, using the world-class electric motor design, build and test capabilities of the GKN Automotive Innovation Centre in Abingdon, England.

The reuse of rare earth magnets in future electric motors will enable GKN Automotive to improve product sustainability by reducing embedded emissions and the use of raw materials, as well as lowering production costs.

“This leading research project, which brings together key industry leaders across multiple sectors, is vital to ensuring a secure and sustainable supply chain for next-generation electric power trains,” says Gordon Day, managing director of the GKN Automotive Innovation Centre. “Rare-earth magnets are a key component of electric motors, and developing a robust solution for recovering and reusing them will help us reduce our environmental impact in the future.”