Magnetics Business & Technology - July/August 2021 - 12

FEATURE ARTICLE
Luxury Auto Maker Bentley Goes After Magnet Materials & Manufacturing Advancements
Iconic luxury car maker Bentley Motors is pursuing two projects
in the magnetics supply chain to support its commitment toward
automobile electrification. One aims to use recycled magnets to
produce auxiliary motors for cars, the other to develop an e-powertrain
without dependence on rare earth magnets.
They are part of a noteworthy transformation for the legendary
company, established over a century ago and currently the world's
largest producer of 12-cylinder engines. Under its Beyond 100
strategy, Bentley has committed to offer only hybrid or electric vehicles
by 2026 and to be fully electric by 2030.
Both projects are supported by government funding and involve
British suppliers of related technology as the UK seeks to further
its capabilities in magnetic materials and technology for EV manufacturing.
Bentley announced the new study In February, a threeyear
research effort that aims to revolutionize the sustainability of
electric motors.
The study could result in recycled rare-earth magnets being used
in selected ancillary motors for the first time. Titled RaRE (Rareearth
Recycling for E-machines), it intends to build on work completed
at the University of Birmingham in devising a method of extracting
magnets from waste electronics. The project will scale up
this process and repurpose the extracted magnetic material into
new recyclable magnets for use within ancillary motors. An objective
is that the motors also minimize complexity through manufacture
while supporting the development of the UK supply chain for
both mass production and low volume components.
" As we accelerate our journey to electrification, offering only hybrid
or electric vehicles by 2026, and full electric by 2030, it is
important that we focus on every aspect of vehicle sustainability,
including sustainable methods of sourcing materials and components, "
said Dr. Matthias Rabe, member of the Board for Engineering
at Bentley. " RaRE promises a step-change in electrical
recyclability, providing a source of truly bespoke, low voltage motors
for a number of different applications and we are confident
the results will provide a basis for fully sustainable electric drives. "
This study will run parallel to Bentley's Octupus research program.
Begun last year, it aims to deliver a breakthrough in e-axle electric
powertrains, utilizing a fully integrated, free from rare-earth
magnet e-axle that supports electric vehicle architectures. The
resulting electric drive system will be designed to exceed the latest
permanent magnet motor performance while simultaneously
removing the need for both rare-earth magnets and copper windings,
delivering a package both cost effective and recyclable at its
end of life.
Both projects are organized in partnership with Innovate UK. Bentley's
role is to lead specification setting and test protocol development
while supporting the design and manufacturing activities.
Partners in the latest effort include several other UK companies.
Hypromag will scale up the recycling processes developed at the
University of Birmingham and convert the extracted powders to
sintered magnets with properties designed around those required
for the auxiliary motors. Founded in 2018, the company aims to
develop a full recycling supply chain for rare earth magnets based
upon neodymium iron boron. It has licensed the patented technology
called HPMS (Hydrogen Processing of Magnet Scrap) developed
in the Magnetic Materials Group at the University of Birmingham.
HPMS is a hydrogen based process to extract NdFeB
magnets from electrical products such as hard disk drives. The
extracted NdFeB powder is in the form of an alloy which can be
12 Magnetics Business & Technology * July/August 2021
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