Birmingham opens rare earth magnet recycling plant

University of Birmingham has opened a £4.5m rare earth magnet separation and recycling facility at Tyseley Energy Park, aiming to strengthen domestic supply of critical minerals used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, medical devices and electronics.
The plant uses a hydrogen-based process developed at the university — Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap (HPMS) — which allows magnets to be recovered from end-of-life products without full disassembly. HPMS transforms waste into reusable rare earth alloys for new metals, alloys and sintered magnets, reducing environmental impact, cost and reliance on overseas supply chains.
This installation scales up earlier proof-of-concept work: where previous runs processed around 50–100 kg, the new facility targets more than 400 kg per batch. Operating a single shift, it can underpin production of up to about 100 tonnes of sintered magnets per year, rising to over 300 tonnes with multiple shifts.
Funded by Innovate UK’s DER-IC programme with additional public research support, the site was officially opened by Industry Minister Chris McDonald. University leaders say the plant advances circular supply chains and supports the UK’s Vision 2035 Critical Minerals Strategy to boost domestic processing, create local jobs and reduce supply-chain risk.