01
Feedstock Collection
End-of-life products and manufacturing scrap containing rare earth magnets are collected and pre-processed. These include applications such as electric motors, electronics, and industrial equipment.
15 years of patented and proven technology
The science of turning a finite resource into a lasting asset
Introduction
A revolutionary hydrogen-based recycling process
Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) is a patented technology for recovering rare-earth magnet material from electronic and industrial end-of-life products, returning them to production. Originally developed within the Magnetic Materials Group (MMG) at the University of Birmingham and licensed to HyProMag, HPMS enables a short-loop, magnet-to-magnet process that preserves material value while reducing production complexity.
HPMS uses hydrogen processing to separate and demagnetise Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets from scrap material, producing high-purity alloy powder without chemical refining. The recovered material can be reprocessed into new magnets or rare-earth alloys through a simpler and cost-effective process, reducing reliance on traditional mining and imports.
88%
Less energy
85%
Lower carbon impact
98%
Separation efficiency
From scrap to high-performance magnet
A five-stage short-loop magnet-to-magnet recycling bypasses the extensive chemical refining and reprocessing of traditional long-loop processes.
02
HPMS Processing
Hydrogen Decrepitation extracts magnets in 4-8 hour cycles. Hydrogen absorption into the rare-earth (Nd-rich phase) grain boundaries of the NdFeB magnets causes intense internal pressure, breaking them into powder.
03
Powder Production
High-purity NdFeB alloy powder is produced for remanufacturing. The coarse HPMS powder is further processed using jet milling or ball milling to achieve a finer, consistent particle size (e.g., 3-5 µm) suitable for re-sintering.
04
Sintering
The purified fine powder is pressed and sintered into magnet blocks. It converts recycled, hydrogen-decrepitated NdFeB (neodymium-iron-boron) powder into high-performance, solid permanent magnets.
05
Finished Magnets
The sintered magnet blocks are precision-cut, coated for corrosion protection, and magnetized to meet specific performance requirements, delivering high-quality permanent magnets ready for advanced industrial and technology applications.
A proven pathway to reliable supply
Built on proven technology and designed to simplify magnet production, HPMS delivers reliable magnet recovery and a de-risked pathway to scalable deployment.
01
Pilot-scale production
3,000+ magnets produced at the University of Birmingham pilot facility
02
Proven technology platform
15+ years of development with over $100 million invested in R&D, reaching Technology Readiness Level 8
03
Operational reference plants
Proven UK operations, with additional plants in Germany, providing established reference for scaling
04
De-risked, predictable deployment
U.S. facilities replicate proven plant designs to enable predictable scaling and reduced execution risk
05
Lower capital, flexible expansion
Hub-and-spoke production combines distributed pre-processing with centralized manufacturing, requiring significantly less capital
06
Simplified production pathway
Short-loop manufacturing reduces processing stages, lowering operational complexity and minimizing potential failure
Designed to simplify magnet production
By reducing the production journey from approximately 24 steps to just 5 streamlined stages, HPMS shortens processing time, reduces operational complexity and improves efficiency, creating a circular supply pathway.
Attribute
Conventional Production
HPMS Short-Loop Process
Material State
Multiple processing stages
Direct magnet recovery
Process Route
Long, complex pathway
Streamlined short-loop
Chemicals Required
Chemical-heavy refining
No chemical processing
Process Complexity
Many steps, higher risk
Fewer steps, fewer failures
Scalability
Capital-heavy facilities
Modular and scalable