SBIR Phase I: Novel Process for Neodymium Manufacturing Using Continuous Chloride Electrolysis

About This Grant

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to alleviate societal reliance on pollution intensive processes for the production of the Rare Earth metal neodymium. Neodymium is essential to permanent magnets which are key to a wide range of modern technologies including wind turbines, electric vehicles, cell phones, and defense applications such as fighter jets, submarines and drones making a domestic supply critical. Our alternative to the current technology is protected by a combination of patent applications and trade secrets, both competitive advantages which are expected to expand via this project. A toll manufacturing business model is intended to help deploy the technology while insulating the startup company from commodity price fluctuations. The proposed technology is presently the sole market offering for the startup and thus this project is essential to the success of the company. The company intends to target domestic supply chain applications for initial market entry bolstering domestic manufacturing and improving national security. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to disrupt the current (>90% market share) oxyfluoride molten salt electrolysis for reduction of neodymium metal. The current oxyfluoride process is a semi-batch process that relies on consumption of a graphite anode which produces carbon dioxide and perfluorocarbons pollutants. The direct generation of perfluorocarbons, which are strictly regulated by the US EPA, makes domestic deployment of the oxyfluoride process challenging and costly. A novel alternative molten salt electrolysis process has been developed that is more electrically efficient than oxyfluoride. However, the process was originally developed for intermediate temperature, solid neodymium reduction. To achieve cost-competitiveness, this project aims to advance the novel process to run stably for extended durations at higher temperatures where liquid neodymium can be produced continuously, achieving cost-advantaged neodymium reduction. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.