Optimized Recycling Strategy for Permanent Magnet Drives of Electric Vehicles with Focus on Rare Earth Magnet Extraction

Permanent magnet (PM) motors offer high efficiency and power density, resulting in a dominant market share for electric vehicles across all major markets. However, a significant drawback is the related use of rare earths (RE) in high-performance PMs, leading to high material costs and dependence on limited resources. The automotive industry is a major driver of demand for several RE elements, which have been classified as critical raw materials by numerous industrialized countries. Among other measures, the establishment of a circular economy can contribute to increasing resilience of supply and sustainability. To achieve this objective, organizational and technological prerequisites must be implemented. In this context, this paper presents an overall concept for the extraction of rare earth magnets from end-of-life vehicle drives. For this purpose, a multi-stage process chain is proposed. The individual process steps are evaluated and compared with alternatives, focusing on the magnet extraction from the rotor.