ExpectedOutcome:
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
This topic refers to the innovation markets for New Energy and for Sustainable Transportation. Several materials specifications and related innovation needs will support this topic such as renewable energy and efficiency, renewable and recyclable materials, sustainable additives and catalysts, advanced surfaces, design for circularity The topic should address several key policies of the European Union such as Circular Economy Action Plan, Zero Pollution Action Plan, A New Industrial Strategy for Europe also in view of critical and strategic raw materials for energy storage and conversion.
In order to deliver the EU's 2030 climate targets under the ‘Fit For 55’ delivering EU's 2030 climate targets, Europe will need an increasing number of advanced systems for energy transformation for wind turbines and electric drive trains. For this, European industry needs high performance magnets using advanced materials solutions for the new energy innovation market, which shall contain in future lesser amounts of rare-earth metals, in view of the geostrategic dependency on critical raw materials, including rare-earth metals.
Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:
- Europe’s industry will benefit from advanced materials for magnets that are either free from rare-earth metals, or use to a significant extent a substitute and reduce the share of rare-earth metals magnets (compared to the state of art). This will alleviate the dependency and possible supply risks and strengthen Europe’s open strategic autonomy and competitiveness.
- Europe used 16 kt of rare earths in 2020, and most of them were used to manufacture permanent magnets (NdFeB). This market is still increasing due to the massive electrification of the energy industries. If new magnet composition is successfully developed by 2030 (Nd1Fe12 phases, NdFeMo, high entropy alloys) this permanent magnet could be widely applied, also in offshore wind energy and in industry.
- The new advanced materials for high-performance magnets must be available at an industrial scale and shall have improved energy-efficiency and performance, whilst at the same time will be easier to recycle with longer and enhanced life cycle.
- This is in particular necessary to keep up with the political ambitions of the European Green Deal matching the increasing demand for energy harvesting and storage with the ambition to reduce emissions.
Scope:
Proposals should address at least four of the following activities:
- The deployment of permanent-magnets in the energy (e.g. wind-turbine engines for power generation) is of major importance for reaching the green deal ambitions. To achieve this whilst reducing Europe's dependency on Critical Raw Materials, the rare-earth metals for magnets shall be replaced or reduced with inexpensive and non-critical materials.
- Designing new rare-earth-free permanent magnetic materials (PMM) to replace high performing but critically restrained rare-earth-based PMM could be based for example on new Mn-Bi alloys, other material compositions could also be proposed. As an alternative strategy, composite magnetic materials could be developed. Rare earth-free magnets for turbines with good efficiency levels were already developed and could be further adopted. Projects must demonstrate 50% enhanced magnetic performance (energy products above 55 kJ/m3) with respect to commercial ferrites.
- Alternatively, the redesigning of rare-earth magnets such as NdFeB magnets should provide for advanced materials where rare-earth metals such as Nd are (partially) replaced. These doped perovskite manganite oxide nanostructures should have the potential to achieve similar or improved magnetic properties such compared to as NdFeB magnets.
- Advanced material models and simulation tools to extend the usage range of the current critical materials and shorten the development and certification cycle of new materials and processes.
- Life-cycle assessment and techno-economic assessment (LCA/TEA) will analyse the economic relevance of the new advanced materials for magnets. This will also address aspects of circularity, and end-of-life aspects. Strategies for the recycling of the new advanced materials will support the whole design process.
- Delivering a scaling will increase the production to an industrial level for advanced materials for magnets that are rare-earth metal free or where rare-earth metals are substituted.
To enable a fast development of new advanced materials, digital tools such as modelling, simulation and characterisation techniques (including those provided by analytical infrastructures) are under the scope, assisted by advanced methods e.g. physics-based methods, machine learning or artificial intelligence.
Proposals submitted under this topic should include a business case and exploitation strategy, as outlined in the introduction to this Destination.
Projects should build on or seek collaboration with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national or regional initiatives, funding programmes and platforms.
An early involvement of SSH research and of end users appears essential.
Additionally, a strategy for skills development should be presented.
Where relevant, proposals should seek links with and capitalise on the results of past and ongoing EU funded research projects, including the ones under Cluster 5 “Climate, Energy, Mobility”.
Specific Topic Conditions:
Activities are expected to start at TRL 3-4 and achieve TRL 5-6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B.
