LG Innotek develops industry's first rare earth-free magnet

LG Innotek's high-performance eco-friendly magnet without using costly rare earth (LG Innotek)

LG Innotek said Wednesday it has developed a high-performance eco-friendly magnet that eliminates the use of heavy rare earth elements.

Heavy rare earth elements have been critical for magnets to retain their strength at high temperatures. However, these elements are predominantly sourced from specific countries like China, posing price volatility and supply instability risks, alongside significant environmental damage due to mining.

Following its 2021 achievement of reducing rare earth usage by 60 percent, LG Innotek has developed a magnet entirely free of costly rare earth elements like terbium and dysprosium.

Collaborating with the Korea Institute of Materials Science, LG Innotek became the first in the industry to create a multi-component alloy material that can replace heavy rare earth elements. This alloy is uniformly applied and heat-absorbed onto the magnet for balanced performance.

LG Innotek’s high-performance eco-friendly magnet boasts an industry-leading magnetic strength of 13.8 kilogauss and maintains durability at temperatures up to 180 degrees Celsius.

This innovation is expected to reduce reliance on specific countries for rare earth materials, stabilizing the magnet supply chain while cutting raw material costs by 60 percent.

Additionally, replacing conventional electric vehicle magnets with high-performance eco-friendly magnets can reduce environmental pollutants in the production process by about 45 kilograms per vehicle.

LG Innotek plans to incorporate these magnets into its products, such as smartphone actuators, to improve price competitiveness and expand applications to home appliances and robotics.

“We are also developing a magnet that completely excludes not only heavy but also light rare earth elements, aiming to launch innovative materials and components ahead of the industry to create unique customer value,” Chief Technology Officer Roh Sung-won said.

By Jie Ye-eun(yeeun@heraldcorp.com)