CMI researchers at Ames National Laboratory, the University of Arizona, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Niron and Powdermet conducted the activity for this highlight
Innovation
Hot pressing was assessed as a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient alternative to spark plasma sintering (SPS) for Sm2Fe17N3 magnet production.
Achievement
Hot pressing Sm2Fe17N3 magnet shows similar densities and magnetic properties with SPS: Hci=10.9 kOe, and BHmax=24 MGOe at small scale.
Since hot pressing is easily scaled compared to SPS, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) assumed production of 90 metric tons of Sm2Fe17N3 magnets per year.
Hot pressing reduced production costs by 65% - 86% compared to SPS due to reduced labor and capital costs.
Hot pressing reduced environmental impacts compared to SPS.
Significance and Impact
Recommended hot pressing for sintering Sm2Fe17N3 magnet.
Next step is to experimentally validate scalability.
Hub Target Addressed
Accelerated magnet discovery and maturation.
Assessing economic, environmental, and social acceptance impacts.
