NANOPYME Nanocrystalline Permanent Magnets Based on Hybrid Metal-Ferrites

Dr. Alberto Bollero

Funding : FP7-NMP-2012-SMALL-6 nº 310516

Duration: 2012 - 2015

48 months

Permanent magnets are key elements of technological devices used in motors, generators, information storage and many more nowadays applications. E.U. industries depend critically on the production of such type of magnets which are based on rare-earths metals. However most of the mines and reserves of rare-earths are controlled by emerging countries (mainly China) that started recently to develop their own technological devices instead of simply exporting the raw materials. Moreover E.U. companies do not produce rare-earth magnets. Rare-earths represent the group with the highest supply risk. NANOPYME addresses the design and development of permanent magnets without rareearths, consisting on hybrid nanostructures based on metals and ferrite oxides. Project relies on key advances in the fields of nanoscience, materials fabrication and processing. These newly designed rare-earth free permanent magnets will guarantee their use in a broad spectrum of technological applications which are currently covered by more expensive low energy-range rare-earth permanent magnets. This is crucial in order to allow E.U. technological companies to be competitive in the global market.