Environment ministry launches pilot to recycle rare earth magnets from EV motors

The climate, energy and environment ministry on Tuesday launched a pilot project to build a domestic recycling system for rare earth permanent magnets found in the drive motors of scrapped electric and hybrid vehicles. The initiative seeks to address the lack of infrastructure for separating these critical materials, which are often lost when old motors are processed as scrap metal or stripped only for copper and aluminum.

To achieve this, the ministry signed a business agreement with the Korea Environment Corporation, Hyundai Motor Co., and the Korea Association of Automobile Dismantling and Recycling Industry at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul.

The pilot program will operate through two tracks. The first, designated as circulation support, targets general scrapped cars by delivering removed drive motors from dismantling yards directly to domestic recycling firms. The Korea Environment Corporation will manage recycler selection and performance metrics, while the industry association recruits participating dismantlers. Hyundai Motor will provide technical data on magnet location and content, along with methods for safe motor removal.

A second track, known as circular loop demonstration, focuses on test vehicles used by Hyundai for new car development. This phase utilizes regulatory sandboxes to verify the recycling process, from dismantling to the recovery of rare earth permanent magnets. It specifically aims to validate the safety of dismantling processes and the field applicability of separation technologies for motors that vary in structure and form across different vehicle models.

Officials estimate that the pilot could recover up to 15 tons of rare earth permanent magnets annually from approximately 14,000 scrapped electric and hybrid vehicles. Each vehicle drive motor contains between 0.75 and 1.5 kilograms of these magnets, yet no sufficient system exists to reclaim them domestically.

"With the spread of electric vehicles, demand for rare earth permanent magnets used in drive motors is increasing," said Kim Han-seung, vice minister of climate, energy and environment. "Through this pilot project, we will establish a domestic recovery system for drive motors and develop recyclable technologies applicable in the field to strengthen the rare earth circulation supply chain."

Following the pilot, the ministry plans to use the results to refine regulations and establish standards that encourage the handover of drive motors at the scrapping stage.