GREENE  
Single-grain re-engineered NdFeB permanent magnets
Horizon Europe - RIA
  active project [2024-2028]
Project Leader: Kristina Žužek - Institut Jožef Stefan, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Head of IMEM activities: Franca Albertini (franca.albertini@imem.cnr.it)
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: https://www.greene-project.eu/

Rare-earth-element (REE) permanent magnets based on Nd-Fe-B are vital for use in electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines, making them central to Europe’s green-energy future. These magnets have outstanding magnetic properties, based on the Nd2Fe14B phase (see Fig. 1). But they are not without their weaknesses. For example, the intrinsic properties of the tetragonal Nd2Fe14B phase are massively under-exploited, and there is the well-known dependence of Europe on REE imports from China.
Within the framework of the European call HORIZON-CL4-2023-RESILIENCE-01-37, GREENE project aims to improve the material by engineering NdFeB crystal grains and the grain-boundary phase.  Moreover, the project will study not only fresh material, but also NdFeB obtained by recycled feedstocks, an alternative source which is by far underexploited, and not even easily available, presently.
CNR-IMEM role within the project, involving the research group on Magnetic and Multiferroic Materials, regards the magnetic characterization of the engineered materials, performed through various experimental techniques (thermomagnetic analysis - TMA, vibrating sample magnetometry - VSM, SQUID magnetometry, magnetic force microscopy - MFM, singular point detection by intense magnetic field pulses for the direct detection of anisotropy fields - SPD, spectroscopic magneto-optical Kerr effect - spectroscopic MOKE).

Project PARTNERS:

  • INSTITUT JOZEF STEFAN (Slovenia) (coordinator)
  • HOCHSCHULE PFORZHEIM (Germany)
  • UNIVERSITAT FUR WEITERBILDUNG KREMS (Austria)
  • UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA (Spain)
  • AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (Spain, "third-party")
  • HOCHSCHULE AALEN - TECHNIK UND WIRTSCHAFT (Germany)
  • VINNYTSIA NATIONAL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY (Ukraine)
  • CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS (France)
  • MAGNETI LJUBLJANA PODJETJE ZA PROIZVODNJO MAGNETNIH MATERIALOV DD (Slovenia)
  • STEINBEIS 2I GMBH (Germany)
  • UNIVERSITEIT LEIDEN (Olanda)
  • CONSIGLIO NAZIONALE DELLE RICERCHE (Italy)
  • TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET WIEN (Austria)
  • HYPROMAG GMBH  (Germany)
  • ROBERT BOSCH GMBH (Germany)