Recycling Neodymium Magnets from Computer Drives with Ammonium Chloride
German researchers in the NEO-CYCLE project adapt a patented recycling method to recover rare earths without conventional hydrochloric acid
German researchers are developing two chemical processes to extract neodymium, iron and boron from scrap computer hard drives. The work, carried out under the European Union NEO-CYCLE project, aims to recover rare earth elements locally to supply motors for each new electric vehicle and wind turbine without relying on overseas refining.
Adapting a patented lamp recycling process to permanent magnets
Around 90 percent of Europe's neodymium supply comes from China, according to the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS). In addition, significant volumes of European magnet scrap are shipped to China for chemical treatment before companies buy back the refined compounds. To break this supply loop, researchers at TU Bergakademie Freiberg adapted an approach from an existing patent originally developed to treat fluorescent lighting tubes—an invention now repurposed to tackle electronic waste, as reported by Interesting Engineering.
The technique relies on solid-state chlorination. Instead of bathing scrap in standard hydrochloric acid, engineers mix powdered neodymium-iron-boron magnets with solid ammonium chloride. Heating the mixture converts the metals into dry metal chlorides and releases a concentrated ammonia solution. Laboratory tests show that this reaction extracts nearly all metals from the magnetic waste while using lower chemical volumes than liquid acid leaching.
Electrochemical extraction separates boron before hydrometallurgy
Alongside solid-state chlorination, the research team is testing an electrochemical route to handle hard disk waste. Technicians place pulverized magnet scraps inside an electrochemical reactor filled with diluted sulfuric acid as the electrolyte. The electric reaction draws out boron into a separate liquid stream, which can then be concentrated for industrial customers in chemicals and pharmaceuticals.
Following either initial reaction, chemical specialists at Fraunhofer IKTS apply selective hydrometallurgical processing. This secondary stage isolates neodymium and iron into high-purity salt compounds. The recovered metal salts provide base materials for fertilizer production, hydrogen generation and new alloy manufacturing, supporting circular sustainability targets across multiple manufacturing sectors.
From laboratory trials to a pilot recovery plant
The four-year NEO-CYCLE initiative operates under the European Union Horizon Europe funding program. Having completed bench-scale trials on discarded computer drives, the consortium is preparing the design and construction of an industrial pilot plant to test continuous throughput under factory conditions, advancing circular economy innovation across Europe.
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