Fraunhofer develops a way to recover neodymium from old hard-drive magnets
German researchers are testing chemical processes that separate neodymium, boron and iron from discarded computer magnets.
A tiny magnet inside an old hard drive holds valuable metals. Researchers are testing ways to get them out and reuse them. It is still an experiment.
Hype check
The noise matches the real change.
Our editorial opinion, based on the sources below. How we score
Your call: hype or real?
Real = it will matter in daily use. Hype = louder than it is. One vote, and it can’t be changed.
Our view and readers’ views are opinions, not statements of fact about a product.
Why it matters
Europe wants to depend less on imported magnet materials, starting with old devices.
Watch: an idea that reuses parts of old devices.
The details
- Fraunhofer IKTS in Germany leads the work with TU Bergakademie Freiberg, in the EU-funded NEO-CYCLE project.
- The target is neodymium, boron and iron from discarded computer hard drives.
- First: solid-state chlorination with ammonium chloride, used for fluorescent lamps and now tested for magnets.
- Second: an electrochemical step with diluted sulfuric acid that yields a boron solution.
- Third: chemical separation that recovers neodymium and iron as pure salts.
- The work is at research and testing stage; no industrial date is given.
Receipts
One trusted outlet reports it. Not confirmed yet. Open the sources and check us.
Written with the help of AI tools and checked against the sources above. How we work
See a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.
