The University of Birmingham has opened a new rare earth magnet recycling facility in the West Midlands, marking a significant step towards reducing the UK’s reliance on imported critical minerals and restoring domestic magnet manufacturing for the first time in 25 years.
Located at Tyseley Energy Park, the facility uses a hydrogen-based recycling process developed by University of Birmingham researchers to recover rare earth magnets from end-of-life products such as electric motors, hard drives, wind turbines and electronics. The technology enables magnets to be extracted without full disassembly, cutting costs, emissions and supply chain risk.
Rare earth magnets are a core component in electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, medical devices and robotics, with demand expected to rise sharply as low-carbon technologies are adopted at scale.
Scaling up UK magnet production
The new facility scales up earlier pilot operations to commercial production levels, with the capacity to recover more than 400kg of rare earth alloy per batch and produce up to 100 tonnes of sintered magnets annually on a single shift. At full operation, capacity could exceed 300 tonnes per year.
According to the University, magnets produced through the recycling process generate around 90% less CO₂ than those made using primary mined materials, while also lowering environmental impact and production costs.
The site was formally opened by Minister for Industry Chris McDonald MP, who described the project as a practical example of the UK’s Critical Minerals Strategy in action. He said the facility would help strengthen domestic supply chains while supporting job creation and clean growth in the West Midlands.
Supporting national resilience
The project aligns with the UK Government’s updated Vision 2035: Critical Minerals Strategy, published in November 2025, which highlights recycling and domestic processing as priorities for improving resilience in strategic materials.
Professor Rachel O’Reilly, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Birmingham, said the facility demonstrates the role of university-led research in translating innovation into industrial capability, supporting both sustainability goals and long-term economic competitiveness.
The £4.5m facility has been funded by Innovate UK, alongside support from UKRI, EPSRC, the Advanced Propulsion Centre and EU Horizon programmes. Innovate UK said the development gives the UK, for the first time in more than two decades, access to all key stages of a rare earth permanent magnet supply chain.
Commercialisation and industry backing
Recycling technologies developed at the University have been exclusively licensed to HyProMag, now owned by Maginito, a subsidiary of Mkango Resources. The company said the Birmingham facility provides a platform for further UK expansion and international rollout, with projects already underway in Europe and the US.
Industry partners have also welcomed the development. JLR said the opening of a UK-based recycling facility for rare earth magnets supports efforts to increase circularity and reduce reliance on virgin materials in electric vehicle production.
The University of Birmingham said the facility is intended as a stepping stone towards a larger-scale operation, reinforcing the Midlands’ role in the UK’s emerging critical materials supply chain.