Ionic Technologies – based in Belfast, NI, and 100% owned by IonicRE – is pioneering the circular economy for magnet rare earths. Building on patented technology developed at Queen’s University Belfast, Ionic Technologies is driving innovation in advanced separation, recycling, and refining, achieving 99.9%+ purity of Nd, Pr, Dy, and Tb from pre-consumer scrap and spent NdFeb magnets.

Supported by a successful Feasibility Study (November 2024), the company is developing a commercial-scale Belfast facility that will convert end-of-life magnets into high-value rare earth oxides, ensuring sustainable, traceable supplies critical for renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, and defence.

With robust industry and government support, including a previous grant in October 2024 along with a pending capital grant application under the UK’s Automotive Transformation Fund, Ionic Technologies is accelerating its pathway to commercialisation and positioning Belfast as a leading hub for magnet recycling.

Significantly, an independent Product Carbon Footprint Study by Minviro has shown Ionic Technologies’ magnet recycling process can achieve emissions reductions of up to 61% compared to the current REO supply chain sourced from primary (mine) supply.

MoUs & Ongoing Initiatives:

• Collaboration with Less Common Metals (LCM), Vacuumschmelze (VAC), and the British Geological Survey (BGS) to build a UK-based magnet supply chain;
• Viridion Brazil joint venture with Viridis Mining & Minerals (Brazil) to combine Ionic Technologies patented recycling and refining technology – recycling spent magnets and refining VMM’s Colossus Project REO feedstock;
• Non-binding MOU with DNA Link (South Korea) to explore magnet recycling, swarf feedstock, and magnet REO supply in East Asia and beyond;
• Multiple UK Government grants (to date) supporting research, pilot projects, and commercial expansion in Northern Ireland.
• Non-binding MOU with US Strategic Metals (USSM) to pursue opportunities to align rare earth and critical mineral production with multi-metallic downstream processing and supply chain development.

Technical Details:

Our team in Belfast is responsible for innovating and developing advanced separation, recycling and refining technology, applying this to the recovery and separation of individual magnet REEs from spent (leftover/used) permanent (NdFeB) magnets.

Unlike other recycling processes, our technology can recycle any form of mixed waste magnets and production swarf regardless of type, age, or coating. We are not reliant on a single feedstock stream. As such, our hydrometallurgical process is able to deliver high purity separated magnet rare earth oxides, independent of variability in composition of magnet feedstock. With an already substantial – and steadily growing – pool of used or end-of-life magnets in the region, particularly from wind turbines at or nearing retirement, there is significant feed material available for recycling into new materials and magnets

This advancement is achieved through our patented solvent separation method, using ionic liquid additives, enabling efficient processing of individual REOs with fewer separation stages and reduced reagent consumption while maintaining high purity. Notably, our operations utilise a hydrometallurgical process to extract the REEs, then separate the individual magnet REEs within –Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb – and finally refine to high purity individual magnet REO.

With Ionic Technologies as the engine, IonicRE is pioneering a truly circular economy for magnets, laying the groundwork for scalable, ex-China supply of rare earth magnets across Europe, East Asia, and the Americas.