Cooperative Agreement DEAR0000645

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering (CFDA 47.041) grant award of $697,264 supports research to develop a new manufacturing process for fabricating rare earth permanent magnets via three-dimensional (3D) printing and decomposition of hydrogels. The project aims to understand the complex composition-processing-microstructure-property relationships of these rare earth permanent magnets, which exhibit superior magnetic properties compared to non-rare earth magnets and have...

This SBIR Phase I project, awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) program, aims to develop a novel molten salt electrolysis process for manufacturing the rare earth metal neodymium. The proposed technology is intended to disrupt the current dominant oxyfluoride process, which relies on pollution-intensive methods. The project aims to create a more environmentally-friendly and cost-competitive alternative for producing...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Engineering (CFDA 47.041) awarded a $575,292 Project Grant to Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to conduct fundamental research on creating bulk nanocomposite permanent magnets without the use of rare-earth metals. The overarching goal is to design, fabricate, and investigate structure-property relationships in additively manufactured nanocomposite permanent magnets that can achieve energy products around 15 mega-gauss-oersted. To...

This National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research Phase I Project Grant of $273,920 was awarded to American Magnet Company, LLC on April 1, 2023 for completion by March 31, 2024. The grant is being used to demonstrate the feasibility of producing reduced-carbon emissions steel using super-pure iron ore powder and hydrogen under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084). Specifically, the company is developing a process to directly reduce...

This $619,688 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) supports research to advance additive manufacturing (AM) of rare earth permanent magnets. The award funds a collaboration between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the India Institute of Technology-Kharagpur to: (1) design specialized alloys for AM processing, (2) conduct in-situ studies of the AM process, and (3) fabricate part-level magnets using commercial laser powder...

This $527,669 federal Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematical and Physical Sciences (CFDA 47.049) program supports research at the University of Utah to enable L10 ordering in bulk FeNi alloys. The project aims to develop low-cost permanent magnets as an alternative to neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, which are in high demand but rely on imports of rare earth elements. The research focuses on enhancing the diffusion kinetics in FeNi alloys to achieve...

This $275,999 National Science Foundation Project Grant supports the development of an environmentally friendly rare earth element extraction process from recycled fluorescent light bulb powder. The awardee, IM Technologies LLC, will engineer a prototype reactor system that uses precision ultra-high temperature heating to evaporate and subsequently condense targeted rare earth constituents from light bulb waste. Research tasks include optimizing thermal energy applications to efficiently extract...

This Cooperative Agreement award from the Department of Defense Washington Headquarters Service, under the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III Program (CFDA 12.777), provides $10,245,214.00 to Rare Resource Recycling Inc. (UEI: RCMQYDXK4C71) for the recovery and recycling of end-of-life Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets through rare earth extraction. The project, which runs from January 16, 2025 to April 17, 2028, aims to create, maintain, protect, expand, and restore domestic industrial...

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy awarded a $3,024,763 Cooperative Agreement under the Conservation Research and Development Federal Grant Program (CFDA 81.086) to Niron Magnetics Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The funding is intended to validate and prototype technologies and processes that address critical materials challenges by developing alternatives, diversifying and expanding supply, increasing manufacturing and material efficiency, and...

Phoenix Tailings Inc. received a $250,000 Project Grant award from the Department of Energy Office of Science on June 28, 2021 to develop an advanced low-energy technique for producing rare earth metals using a mixed halide molten salt. The award is part of the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program (CFDA 81.049), which supports basic research to deliver scientific discoveries and tools that transform understanding of nature and advance U.S. energy security and economic...