According to the World Economic Forum, Europe depends on China for 98% of its highest-performance magnets. If China stopped exports tomorrow, the continent’s wind turbines, EV motors, and defence systems would grind to a halt. MagNEO believes 3D printing can change that.
These critical magnets, typically made from rare earth elements (REEs) like neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB), are essential for modern technologies, but their concentrated supply exposes European manufacturers to geopolitical risk, price volatility, and single-source dependence. To reduce this vulnerability, MagNEO is developing REE-free AlNiCo and high-entropy alloy (HEA) magnets, coupled with optimized motor designs. Backed by the European Union under Horizon Europe (Grant Agreement 101130095), the project benefits from strong institutional support to advance Europe’s autonomy, innovation, and sustainability goals.
To get a clear picture, I recently spoke with Spyros Diplas, Project Coordinator, MagNEO, about the project objectives, first-year progress, and the path toward a European REE-free magnet supply chain. He noted that while EU backing underpins the initiative, the project continues to navigate key technical challenges.
Why 3D Printing Changes the Magnet Equation
MagNEO focuses on “gap permanent magnets,” materials that fall between low-cost ferrite magnets and high-performance REE magnets. By elevating the performance of AlNiCo and HEA magnets through advanced AM processes, the project delivers commercially viable alternatives for renewable energy, clean mobility, and industrial applications.
“Additive manufacturing lets us engineer magnets in ways that traditional casting simply cannot—aligning grains, controlling phases, tailoring performance, and shaping complex geometries for motors and generators,” said Diplas.
AM gives MagNEO precise control over microstructure and grain orientation, allowing the team to align grains along the axis of easy magnetization and promote FeCo-rich nanoscale crystallites, directly improving shape anisotropy, thermal stability, and performance per kilogram.
Spinodal decomposition naturally organizes FeCo-rich phases during heat treatment, and AM lets the team refine their scale and alignment to push coercivity and energy product higher while keeping processes scalable. Small-batch, localized production of customized magnets is also possible, supporting strategic sectors where supply security is critical.
High-throughput arc melting experiments and lab-scale AM validate modelling predictions, helping the consortium quickly select the strongest alloy candidates before scaling to industrial builds. Small PBF-LB trials define optimal laser parameters and cooling conditions to achieve the desired microstructures.
Scaling beyond 1 kg while maintaining grain orientation and avoiding defects remains a major challenge, and the team is actively developing strategies—still under confidentiality.
Who Prints What
The MagNEO consortium unites 16 major industry players to combine industrial, research, and academic expertise to cover the full magnet value chain. SINTEF coordinates the project and leads multiscale modelling, advanced characterization, high-throughput synthesis, recycling strategies, and social sciences research. VTT develops AM processes for AlNiCo and HEA hard magnets, including post-AM heat treatments and characterization. The University of Oslo provides structural and magnetic characterization, while CRF and The Switch focus on technoeconomic analyses. Nikon SLM Solutions handles large-scale AM magnet production, and TALOS manages administration, innovation support, and exploitation.
Specialized activities are distributed across partners: 3D-Components models magnetic properties and magnet drive design; AIMEN works on advanced characterization, DED-LB high-throughput synthesis, and recycling validation; Magneti Ljubljana covers thermal and thermomagnetic treatments, homogenization, annealing, magnetization, and final production. CEIT supports modelling, characterization, powder synthesis, and recycling; Conify develops LPBF parameters and surface optimization; IRES conducts life cycle assessment and cost analysis; University for Continuing Education Krems supports magnet design; BioG3D validates recycling strategies, and NTUA manages selective recovery of Ni, Co, and Cu from end-of-life products.
Sustainability, Circularity, and EU Climate Goals
Resource independence is only part of the picture—MagNEO is also designing a supply chain that is circular, low-carbon, and resilient. The project develops sustainable, REE-free AlNiCo and HEA magnets that reduce dependence on critical raw materials while promoting circular economy principles. Using an integrated Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA), MagNEO evaluates environmental, economic, and social impacts across production.
Aligned with the European Green Deal and Fit for 55, MagNEO accelerates low-carbon technologies in clean mobility and renewable energy, supporting the EU’s target of a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Under REPowerEU, it strengthens energy security by reducing reliance on imported rare earths and cobalt.
To support circularity, MagNEO is developing recycling strategies for end-of-life magnets, AM residues, and metals recovered from Li-ion batteries. Closed-loop recycling ensures AM powders and long-life AlNiCo magnets re-enter production, lowering reliance on newly mined materials.
MagNEO’s First Year: Pioneering REE-Free Magnet Innovation
In its first year, the project focused on laying the foundation: developing novel magnet compositions and refining additive manufacturing processes. The team achieved a major breakthrough with new AlNiCo compositions that boost coercivity through high-throughput synthesis, machine-learning-assisted modelling, and advanced characterization techniques.
Diplas explained that innovation rarely comes without challenges. Ensuring structural integrity of AM magnets and addressing early modelling results indicating potential underperformance in high- and low-speed motors were key hurdles. The consortium is refining AM parameters and applying alternative design practices in generators, propulsion systems, and heat pumps.
“The most critical lesson emerging from the first year underscores the importance of co-development: material advancement must proceed in tight integration with motor and device design rather than as a sequential, isolated activity,” said Diplas. This parallel approach ensures new magnet properties are fully leveraged in practical applications and now guides the project’s second year, within the framework of its 48-month timeline for iterative optimization and real-world testing.
From Lab to Industry: MagNEO’s Roadmap
Building on its breakthroughs, MagNEO continues advancing toward a European REE-free magnet supply chain. The consortium is working on improving AlNiCo compositions, scaling pilot production, and developing demonstrator magnets. Progress is closely monitored through well-defined milestones and periodic reviews, ensuring that material development, AM processes, and demonstrator fabrication remain coordinated and aligned with the project’s overarching goals of independence and sustainability.
Diplas added that beyond metrics, the project is about Europe’s broader technological and industrial autonomy. “MagNEO isn’t just about magnets, it’s about Europe taking control of its technology and resources,” he emphasizes. “From reducing dependence on imported rare earths to building resilient, circular supply chains, from cutting carbon footprints to generating jobs, every achievement moves Europe toward a future that is autonomous, sustainable, and competitive.”
Looking ahead, the consortium anticipates the integration of MagNEO magnets into European industries, with contingency plans in place to address potential delays in pilot-scale production or alloy development.
Beyond Magnets: 3D Printing for European Supply Chain Resilience
MagNEO is not the only initiative harnessing AM to strengthen Europe’s industrial independence. Across sectors, 3D printing is emerging as a key tool to mitigate reliance on external suppliers, reduce supply chain bottlenecks, and accelerate localized production.
Among recent developments, the European Association of Manufacturing Technologies (CECIMO) launched the Manifesto for a Competitive European Additive Manufacturing Sector, co-signed by ten national associations representing the AM ecosystem across Europe. The manifesto signals a coordinated effort to advance the European AM industry while enhancing its ability to respond swiftly to supply chain disruptions.
Elsewhere, 3D technology provider Sicnova inaugurated the Center for Special Applications and Process Certification for the Military and Defense Sectors (CEDAEC) in Spain. Dedicated exclusively to advanced manufacturing and component certification for defense, the facility strengthens the country’s capacity to produce critical parts locally and maintain operational continuity in strategic sectors.
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Featured image shows MagNEO Concept. Image via MagNETO.
