Principal investigator: Paul Richard Ohodnicki, Jr.
University: University of Pittsburgh
Industry partners: National Magnetics and CorePower Magnetics
Rare earth metals and critical materials are a priority of U.S. policies and corporate strategies to mitigate impacts of supply chain risks for defense and energy technologies. Rare earth permanent magnets for electric motors represent more than 40% of global electricity consumption. Advanced manufacturing pathways will be leveraged to successfully realize new earth-abundant, rare earth-free ferrite nanocomposite permanent magnets through nanostructuring and compositional optimization. This research will leverage pilot-scale manufacturing facilities for ferrite powder processing, compaction, and sintering established through Navy support at the Advanced Magnetics for Power and Energy Development Consortium laboratory. Collaboration with National Magnetics, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of ferrite materials, will provide technical advising, plant and manufacturing facility visits, internships for graduate and undergraduate students, and commercialization pathways. Additional collaborations with Pennsylvania-based electric motor manufacturer CorePower Magnetics will explore adoption of novel rare earth-free magnets in applications including AI-based data center cooling and electric vehicles.