Materials Nexus, a high-tech company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to design new materials for net-zero technologies, today announced the design and creation of MagNex, a new rare earth-free permanent magnet. The identification of MagNex was driven by the Materials Nexus AI platform. Its synthesis and testing was carried out in partnership with the Henry Royce Institute and the University of Sheffield.
The discovery of new materials has always been a slow and resource-intensive process, usually based on trial and error, and this is why advances in materials have lagged behind other innovations in the industry.
MagNex’s efficient AI-driven synthesis using the Materials Nexus platform places the company at the forefront of its field, demonstrating the technology’s ability to design and produce materials that meet industry requirements.
With an initial focus on magnets, Materials Nexus’ AI platform has identified and analyzed more than 100 million candidate compositions of rare earth-free permanent magnets that address industrial challenges such as supply chain security, cost, performance and environmental concerns.
It took decades to discover today’s industry standard permanent magnet and even longer to develop it into the products we use today; it took only three months to design, synthesize and test MagNex, 200 times faster. MagNex can be produced at 20% of the material cost and with a 70% reduction in carbon emissions (kg CO2/kg) compared to commercially available rare earth magnets.
Permanent magnets are essential for manufacturing in a variety of growing industries, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, robotics and drones. Demand for rare earth magnets is expected to outstrip supply in the coming years; In the electric vehicle industry alone, the use of rare earth magnets is expected to increase tenfold by 2030.
However, the rare earth metals needed to produce these magnets, such as neodymium and dysprosium, are vulnerable to a number of supply chain issues. Materials Nexus is able to play a leading role in equipping the industries of the future with sustainable and affordable materials, of which MagNex is just one example.
Materials Nexus’ systematic approach can be applied to other high-value areas of the green transition, such as semiconductors, superconductors and catalysts. This makes materials discovery more intentional, more cost-effective, faster, and more environmentally friendly than ever before.
I’m excited to announce the creation of MagNex, an important step in using AI to design the materials of the future that are cheaper, better performing and more durable than existing options. AI-guided materials design will impact not only the field of magnetism, but all of materials science. We have now identified a scalable method for designing new materials that meet all kinds of industrial needs. Our platform has already generated great interest in a variety of products with applications such as semiconductors, catalysts and coatings. I look forward to seeing the role it will play in supporting market demand for the creation of innovative materials that will help solve increasingly pressing supply chain and environmental issues.
Jonathan Bean, CEO of Materials Nexus.We are very happy that our first interaction with Materials Nexus resulted in such a positive outcome. The combination of Materials Nexus’ approach, which uses AI for materials discovery, and the world-class facilities we have for manufacturing advanced alloys at the Henry Royce Institute here in Sheffield, has enabled us to made it possible to develop a new magnetic material at an astonishing speed. This achievement is a testament to the promising future of materials and manufacturing. The next generation of materials, unlocked through the power of AI, holds great promise for research, industry and our planet.
Iain Todd FREng, Professor of Metallurgy and Materials Processing at the University of Sheffield.This is a groundbreaking discovery using innovative machine learning software, the development of which was made possible thanks to funding from Innovate UK. This discovery could have a significant impact on our ambitions for net zero emissions, through renewable energy and low-carbon transport, by eliminating the need for rare earth elements in high-performance permanent magnets.
Bruce Adderley, Director of Make & Use – Net-Zero at Innovate UK.
Via: Materials Nexus