Schaeffler Develops Direct Rare-Earth Magnet Recycling Process in Hungary?But This Is Reuse, Not Refining

Highlights

• Schaeffler's Szombathely facility uses adapted pressing equipment to remove undamaged permanent magnets from defective EV motor rotors for direct reinstallation.
• The process preserves accumulated downstream value across separation, oxide, metal, alloy, and magnet manufacturing stages where China holds its greatest advantage.
• REEx frames this as component recirculation rather than recycling, potentially avoiding more processing and capital than chemical rare-earth recovery.
• Key performance data including recovery yield, rejection rate, cycle time, and qualification standards have not yet been disclosed, leaving scalability unproven.
• The closed-loop model currently targets manufacturing scrap with known provenance; end-of-life EV motor recovery presents a significantly harder challenge.