Could Commercial Fusion Energy be the Vaccine that Stops Global Warming in its Tracks?
by Damian Hampshire of Durham University

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres described the recent UN IPCC (United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change) report as a "code red for humanity". Prof. Hampshire will discuss whether commercial fusion energy can be the vaccine that stops global warming in its tracks. He will outline how a fusion energy tokamak confines a burning plasma, at temperatures above that of the sun, using superconducting magnets. He also will review the state-of-the art fusion energy projects world-wide. He will argue that if you want to do something about global warming, and feel that gluing yourself to a train or lying down in front the traffic is not your bag, an excellent option would be to write to your MP and ask them to support investing £10 B of taxpayers money to find out whether magnetically confined fusion energy can be made commercial.

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Extracting Energy from Marine Tidal Streams using Kite Systems (Virtual Presentation)
by David Collier of Minesto UK Ltd

The presentation will describe the following: - UK and worldwide tidal stream energy resource - The current status of the tidal stream industry - How tidal energy can be extracted using the Minesto Deep Green kite based system - Images and videos of the recent Minesto demonstration testing in the Faroe Islands - The future of Tidal Energy as part of the renewable energy mix

Managing Rare Earth Risk – Substitution Strategies Must be Part of the Answer
by Andrew Hine of GreenSpur Wind Ltd

Global offshore wind is forecast to exceed 1TW by 2050. This represents a 35-fold increase from the 30GW that was deployed at the end of 2020. The CAPEX cost of building 1TW of new capacity will exceed £2tn. Offshore wind turbines currently use rare earth Direct Drive Permanent Magnet Generators (DD-PMG). These generators are exposed to significant rare earth price and supply risk. This is now recognised as the greatest risk facing the industry - a single 14MW offshore turbine uses as much rare earth magnetic material as 3 nuclear submarines, 23 F35 fighter jets or 5,000 EVs. GreenSpur Wind has developed a new rare earth free DD-PMG, which uses lower strength ferrite magnets in a unique and IP protected configuration. GreenSpur’s rare earth substitution technology can potentially eliminate the rare earth risk facing the offshore wind industry and become the focus of a new UK supported innovation.

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Critical Materials and Circular Opportunities (Virtual Presentation)
by Dave Peck of Delft University of Technology & UCL

The concept of material criticality has arisen from the concern that some materials, especially metals, may become supply unstable, price volatile or in other ways uncertain in their availability for use in our products, buildings and infrastructures. This constraint is important in relation to magnets used in motors and generators, as well as other EEE applications. These constraints may undermine the deployment of key technologies for sustainable development. David Peck will outline how a transition to a circular economy could be a promising approach for material criticality mitigation. David will also explore how looking back in history has helped frame the complex challenges of critical materials and a circular economy.

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SUSMAGPRO – A European Initiative to Make Magnets More Sustainable (Virtual Presentation)
by Carlo Burkhardt of Pforzheim University

The aim of this project is to develop a recycling supply chain for rare earth magnets in the EU and to demonstrate these new materials on a pilot scale within a range of application sectors. Rare earth magnets based upon neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB, also containing dysprosium) are used in a wide range of products, including for example clean energy technologies (wind turbines and electric vehicles) and high tech sectors such as electronics. However in recent years the supply of these materials has come under considerable pressure and neodymium and dysprosium are now deemed to be of greatest supply risk for all elements. The EU imports far more NdFeB magnets than it manufactures (>1,000 tonnes manufactured per annum). It has been estimated that ~ 2,000-3,000 tonnes/annum of NdFeB will be available by 2020 for recycling, which presents a significant opportunity. The aim of this project is to identify, separate, recycle and demonstrate recycled magnets at a pilot scale with a multidisciplinary team located across the EU. The project will target three of the main application sectors including automotive, electronics and wind turbines. The project will develop new sensing and robotic sorting lines for the identified EoL products, building upon technologies developed in the FP7 project Remanence. New hydrogen based technologies will be demonstrated at scale for separating and purifying NdFeB powders from the robotically sorted parts and this technology will be duplicated at another partner in the project. The separated powders will be re-manufactured into sintered magnets, injection moulded magnets, metal injection moulded magnets and cast alloys, at 4 different companies across 3 countries, building upon work in the Repromag Horizon 2020 project. A techno economic assessment will be performed for each potential recycling route alongside a life cycle assessment to assess the environmental benefits over primary production.

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Mkango Resources – Rare Earths from the Warm Heart of Africa
by William Dawes of Mkango Resources

Mkango has progressed an early stage rare earths project in Malawi to an advanced stage, with a feasibility study due to be completed in Q1 2022. In parallel, Mkango is developing a rare earths separation plant in Poland, working with Grupa Azoty Pulawy, Poland’s leading chemicals company. Through its ownership of Maginito Ltd, Mkango is also developing green technology opportunities in the rare earths supply chain, including a 25% interest in NdFeB magnet recycler HyProMag Ltd.

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Responding to the Strategic Materials Ramp Up: Reduce, Replace or Recycle?
by Jon Regnart of Advanced Propulsion Centre

My presentation will explore the use of critical and magnetic materials in electrified vehicles. I will discuss future trends in batteries, motors and power electronics, with a special focus on strategies industry are enacting to reduce, replace and recycle critical and magnetic materials.

Recycling of Rare Earth Magnets from Consumer Goods at End of Life
by Rob Chaddock of EMR Group

Consideration of some of the practical and economic aspects of the recycling of rare earth magnets from end of life consumer goods such as audio speakers and vehicles, including findings of the REAP project, part of the Driving the Electric Revolution challenge.

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Why the Green Road Begins in the Brown Earth
by Gareth Hatch of Strategic Materials Advisors Ltd

There is little doubt that the increased electrification of transportation and energy systems will be a pivotal part of our society’s response to the challenges of climate change and the need to reduce pollution. The deployment of the electrical machines and energy-storage platforms required for this great transition, will depend entirely on access to a number of critical metals, and the robustness of their supply chains. Secondary production, through the re-use and recycling of components containing such metals, is an important part of the story, but the primary production of critical metals will continue to dominate for years to come. This presentation focuses on the challenges faced by the primary critical-metals supply chain (using the example of rare-earth elements for the production of permanent magnets), and the part that it is has to play in meeting the technical and societal challenges of our age.

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Rare Earth Materials in Automotive Traction Drives – a view from Tier 1 (TBC)
by Sean Worrall of GKN Automotive

With ever increasing penetration of EV into the light car market, increasing legislative pressure on Region of Origin, pressure on ESG, sustainable, ethical, supply chains and reduced embedded carbon, what is the future of rare earth magnets in automotive electric drives. This presentation takes a look at motor technology and market development over the next decade.