Bunting sponsors REPM 2023

Complex magnetic rollercoaster brake using Neodymium rare earth magnets

Global company Bunting has signed up as a gold sponsor of REPM 2023, the 27th international workshop on rare earth and future permanent magnets and their applications, which is taking place 3-7 September at the University of Birmingham.

The biennial workshop is co-organised by SUSMAGPRO (Sustainable Recovery, Reprocessing and Reuse of Rare Earth Magnets in a European Circular Economy) and its partner the University of Birmingham, bringing together scientists and engineers working on rare-earth permanent magnets and their applications.

The workshop and conference represent an ideal platform to facilitate the exchange of recent results and ideas on topics such as raw materials, resources, processing and properties of rare earth and future permanent magnets.

Bunting is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of magnets, magnet assemblies and magnetising equipment. The Bunting European engineering and manufacturing facilities are in Berkhamsted and Redditch.

The REPM workshop was initiated by Karl Strnat in 1976 with the aim of providing the rare-earth permanent magnet industry a platform to exchange research ideas and applications such as raw material availability and resources, and the processing and properties of rare-earth and future permanent magnets.

The conference programme includes opening remarks from Masato Sagawa, the Japanese scientist and entrepreneur who invented the sintered permanent rare-earth magnet Neodymium Iron Boron (NdFeB) in the early 1980s. The neodymium magnet has since become one of the most important materials in the world and is critical to a wide range of technologies from computers to electric vehicles (EVs) and wind turbines.

Pictured right: computer hard drives, a valuable source of rare earth magnet material

The REPM 2023 conference focuses on maintaining and developing the vitally important supply chain for NdFeB applications. This includes developing new resources, reclaiming and recycling magnets, and the development of new magnet materials. The diverse range of papers cover topics from magnet recycling, to nanocomposite and thin film magnets, and rare earth free magnets.

Bunting is at the cutting edge of magnet material development and usage. As a member of the EU-funded SUSMAGPRO, Bunting is working with European companies to develop a recycling supply chain for rare earth magnets in Europe and to demonstrate the effective re-use of recycled rare earth materials within several industries. The business joins eight other industry-leading companies sponsoring the event in a bronze, silver and gold capacity.

Matthew Swallow, Bunting’s technical products manager and the UK Magnetics Society’s chair, is attending the workshop. He said: “The importance of the REPM conference cannot be understated. The rising number of applications will stretch supply and availability, driving vital innovation in recycling and new materials. The presentations in the conference will cover such areas of concern, looking at maintaining availability and new magnet technology. As a leading European supplier of magnet materials, we are proud to support the event as a Gold sponsor.”