Getting Rid of Critical Raw Materials in Hard Magnets: Is it Feasible?

Hard magnets are key components in the evolution of transportation technologies and renewable energies. In particular, in automobile industry, the anticipated switch to full electric drive in the next 30 years will create a strong demand for magnets. Unfortunately, present high-performance hard magnets use critical elements, either rare-earth (RE), or cobalt, so we can foresee a big stress on the market. In this article, we will review all existing hard magnets having functional properties adapted to automobile electric drives, the evolution of present material to reduce the critical elements content or to get rid of them. Finally, a functional cost criterion will be set and discussed.