University receives grant to develop specialized rare-earth-free magnets

Contacts:

Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu, (612) 626-7959

Preston Smith, University News Services, smith@umn.edu, (612) 625-0552

Researchers say the new material has the potential to be the ‘holy grail’ of magnets

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (09/29/2011) — A University of Minnesota research project to develop specialized magnets that don’t rely on rare earth elements is one of 60 cutting-edge research projects recently funded by the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at dramatically improving how the U.S. produces and uses energy.

The University of Minnesota project, led by electrical and computer engineering professor Jian-Ping Wang in the College of Science and Engineering, received a $2.5 million grant from Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which the U.S. Department of Energy launched in 2009.

The University of Minnesota, along with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will develop a prototype iron-nitride magnet material that is free of rare earth elements but should outperform the best magnets available today. The research team said this new material “has the potential to be the ‘holy grail’ of magnets.”

Researchers expect the success of this project to lead to commercial development of an Fe16N2 magnet in a very short time. Three U.S. companies, including one large automobile manufacturer, one magnet product manufacturer and one vacuum equipment manufacturer, have indicated an interest to support a partnership with the team for potential commercial development if the project is successful.

ARPA-E has created a new program devoted to coming up with materials and components that won’t need to use rare earth, which refers to a collection of elements that currently are crucial for producing parts for electric car motors, wind turbines, LED lighting and other green tech products. Rare earth is a hot topic these days because most of the materials come from China, which has tightened its rare earth exports and angered many countries.

“These innovative projects are at the forefront of a new technological frontier that plays a critical role in our future energy security and economic growth,” said Arun Majumdar, director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E. “It is now more important than ever to invest in game-changing ideas that will build the technological infrastructure for a new, clean energy economy.”

For more information and a full list of all of the recently funded projects, visit http://arpa-e.energy.gov.