A scroll air motor, also known as a scroll expander is a relatively new concept to pneumatic actuators. Its unique structure features it many advantages as well as higher ability of energy conversion than other conventional pneumatic actuators, such as cylinders, vane-type air motors, etc. The scroll technique is now mainly and widely implemented in air conditioner and refrigeration compressors. The small, quiet, and highly compact design matches the requirement arising from designing refrigeration compressors. When a scroll air motor is running, the moving scroll wobbles inside the fixed scroll and it can revolve eccentrically with respect to the fixed one to form several sealed crescent chambers, and the motor goes successively and periodically. Recently, the concept was re-invented to build scroll air motors (expanders), which are immediately adopted to drive generators for electric power generation because of the scroll's inherent advantages. Such a scroll and generator combination has been successfully used in Micro Combined Heat and Power systems (Micro CHP) by a number of companies, such as Energetix Group Plc and Honda. Micro CHP is used to generate electric power while heating a house and invert surplus electric power to grid. It is claimed that up to 95% of available fuel energy can be used and the people could save 20% of gas and electricity bills by using the CHP system at home. In a CHP system, the scroll air motor serves as a driving force to drive the generator and also circulate the heat energy. On the other hand, the scroll air motor may be used for compressed air energy storage system to solve the problems of diffusion and intermittence associated with renewable resource electricity . It is well noticed that the instability and air leakage of air motor reduces the energy efficiency of a scroll. From our research, we observed that the energy efficiency will be dramatically reduced at lower compressed air supply pressures, for example, driving by exhaust compressed air. This characteristic will affect and limit many applications of the scroll, such as, recycling exhaust energy, fuel cell, and energy storage for renewable power generation. In this proposal, an inventive approach is proposed for improvement of scroll energy efficiency - development of a Magnetic Scroll, which will allow a scroll air motor to work at lower and variable air pressures. The key feature of the proposed approach is to make scroll spirals using magnetic materials. The magnetic scroll air motor consists of spirals made from permanent magnet inside the scroll motor. Each scroll is magnetized in one particular direction in the way that magnetic field arrangements of both scrolls are opposite to each other for their location inside the scroll air motor. For the magnetic scroll, the compressed air is supplied to produce mechanical force for scroll motion and the magnetized scroll will generate extra force at certain positions to drive the moving scroll to moving along its designed moving direction. From our initial simulation study, the following advantages of the proposed magnetic scroll will have: 1) to reduce the air leakage; 2) to improve energy efficiency of the scroll; 3) to allow the scroll to be able to work at a low compressed air supply. The total energy saving compared with the current scroll could be about 20% from our initial analysis. This proposal is to implement the idea by further simulation study and making a prototype of the scroll. A number of issues will be explored in the proposed research, such as, the suitable materials for the scroll, the scheme for magnetizing the scroll shaped material, assembly of the moving and fixed scroll, the mechanism of the magnetic field evolving along the scroll motion trajectory, control strategy for the scroll to get smooth movement, the quantified analysis for energy saving.

The REE4EU project will develop, validate and demonstrate in 2 industrially relevant Pilots an innovative Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production route from Permanent Magnets (PM) and Secondary Batteries (SB) waste. Currently only 1% of RE waste is being recovered as no adequate process is available, so proof-of-concept in REE4EU will open-up a fully new route bringing recovery of 90% of in-process wastes from PM manufacturing within reach. The targeted integrated solution is based on recently developed lab-proven technologies for direct high-temperature electrolyses of REA production. It will be combined in the pilots with an innovative and proven Ionic Liquid Extraction or tailored hydrometallurgical pre-treatment to demonstrate dramatic improvements in cost and environmental performance compared to state of the art technologies. This includes avoidance of process steps (pure RE extraction and reprocessing), 50% energy savings, and 100% recycling of ionic liquids as opposed to disposal of strong acid leeching agents in state of the art pre-treatment steps. The project involves in its consortium the full value chain including (SME and large) RE metal producers, PM manufacturer, SME process engineering companies and LCA experts, (SME and large) electronics and battery recycling companies, SME technology transfer, innovation specialists as well as chemical and end-user associations. Together with 4 top research institutes on electrolyses, ionic liquids and RE recycling, they will prove technical and economic viability on in-process PM waste (swarf), as well as End-of-Life (EoL) PM and SB waste, develop urgently required market data on EoL RE availability and a triple value-chain business case for a new European secondary Rare Earth Alloys (REA) production sector, creating new jobs, increasing Europe’s independence from imports and providing valuable raw materials for fast growing European green-technology industries such as Electrical/Hybrid vehicles and Wind Turbines.

The demand for lower dependency on critical raw materials (CRM) such as rare earths (RE) is not only a European but a global problem that demands immediate action. The purpose of this project is to exploit advanced theoretical and computation methods together with state-of-the-art materials preparation and characterization techniques, to develop the next generation RE-free/lean permanent magnets (PM). The material design will be driven by automated large computational screening of new and novel intermetallic compounds with uniaxial structure in order to achieve high saturation magnetisation, magnetocrystalline anisotropy and Curie temperature. The simulations will be based on a primary screening detecting the mechanisms that give rise to distorted phases and stabilize them, by adding doping atoms as stabilizers. In a further computation on successfully synthetized compounds, micromagnetic calculations will be used in order to design the optimal microstructure for the given phases that will maximise the coercivity needed for a PM. Extensive experimental processing and characterisation of the selected phases will result in a first proof of principle of the feasibility of NOVAMAG PMs. A multidisciplinary team of magnet experts consisting of chemists, material scientists, physicists and engineers from academia, national labs and industry is assembled to undertake a concerted, systematic and innovative study to overcome the problems involved and develop the next generation RE-free/lean PMs. Currently the demand for these PM s is even higher with the emerging markets of hybrid/electric vehicles and wind mill power systems. The proposed project will provide the fundamental innovations and breakthroughs which will have a major impact in re-establishing the Europe as a leader in the science, technology and commercialization of this very important class of materials and help decrease our dependence on China, which will in turn improve the competitiveness of EU manufacturers.