The university of central florida board of trustees-new award control #3590-1554,DE-FOA-0003590 (magnito) title: fusion: 5F-electron ultra-strong intermetallic magnets through optimized new phases…

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded the University of Central Florida Board of Trustees a $1,240,525 cooperative agreement on July 17, 2026, to develop ultra-strong permanent magnets based on 5f-electron actinide elements, specifically uranium-iron intermetallic compounds that achieve both high magnetic anisotropy and high Curie temperature—properties rarely realized together in existing magnet systems. The work, titled "FUSION: 5F-Electron Ultra-Strong Intermetallic Magnets Through Optimized New Phases," funds research under ARPA-E's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy program (CFDA 81.135) and runs through July 16, 2029, with place of performance in Orlando, Florida.

The project targets magnet blocks with energy product exceeding 1,000 KJ/m³ (>120 MGOE) using domestically sourced depleted uranium, addressing the dual challenge of high-temperature performance loss and foreign dependence in current magnet technology. UCF leads the effort with expertise in uranium diffusion couple and sintering studies, supported by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (high-throughput magnetic thick-film measurements of anisotropy and Curie temperature), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (beyond-DFT and AI/ML modeling of uranium-iron systems), and Vulcan Elements (domestically sourced actinides and industrial scaling pathways). The team will identify and refine ternary uranium-iron structures through computational predictions and experimental validation to establish design rules for scalable production.

The university of central florida board of trustees-new award control #3590-1554,DE-FOA-0003590 (magnito) title: fusion: 5F-electron ultra-strong intermetallic magnets through optimized new phases we propose to develop a new class of ultra-strong permanent magnets based on 5F-electron actinide elements, which hold unique electronic structures capable of producing extremely high magnetic strength. Todays strongest magnets either lose performance at high temperatures or depend on materials whose elements are scarce and difficult to produce domestically. Our approach overcomes these limitations by designing uraniumiron (UFE) intermetallic compounds that simultaneously achieve very high magnetic anisotropy and high curie temperature two properties rarely realized together in a single material system. To accomplish this, the effort brings together the complementary strengths of the university of central florida (UCF), with expertise in uranium diffusion couple and sintering studies; the U.S. Naval research laboratory (NRL), with high- throughput magnetic thick-film measurements of anisotropy and curie temperature; OAK ridge national laboratory (ornl), with advanced beyond-DFT and AI/ML modeling of UFE systems; and vulcan elements, which provides domestically sourced actinides and industrial scaling pathways. Together, the team will tackle the core challenge of CO-optimizing anisotropy and curie temperature by identifying and refining ternary ufex structures, leveraging both computational predictions and experimental validation. The resulting design rules will guide scalable magnet blocks targeting >1000 KJ/m (>120 mgoe) energy product using U.S.-sourced depleted uranium, which exhibits radioactivity of only ~0.015 MBQ/kglower than a common household smoke detector (am-241, ~0.040 MBQ). Overall, this effort leverage U.S. Leadership in actinides to develop next-generation high performing magnets and reducing dependence on foreign critical materials.