An international research and development project is under way to find new magnetic material in response to concerns about dwindling rare-earth materials used in modern-day magnets. At the helm of the project is University of Alabama professor Takao Suzuki, the director of the University’s Center for Materials for Information Technology.

The project centers around concerns about the supplies and availability of naturally magnetic materials known as rare-earth materials.

Suzuki said these materials create the most powerful and efficient magnets that are used in modern technology. These magnets are used in almost every industry and electronic gadgetry from laptops and cell phones to airplanes and medical technology.

In December of 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy reported because of increasing use and decreasing supplies, there could be a shortage of rare-earth materials as early as 2015. This could result in dramatic price increases for electronic devices and automobiles as well as other goods. Of the rare-earth materials that are currently in production, about 95 percent is estimated to be produced in China, which also raises concerns for the global market.

“Therefore, it is a high priority to develop ‘rare-earth free’ high energy-product permanent magnets,” Suzuki said. “The present project focuses on the issue of rare earth materials in view of ‘Replacement of Scarce and Expensive Elements, Critical for Energy Applications.’”

Suzuki is the principle investigator of the project, which includes researchers from five groups in three countries. In the United States, researchers at the University of Delaware will work with Suzuki’s team of 13 researchers at Alabama who are a part of MINT. There are also two groups in Germany and two groups in Japan that will participate in the research and development. In addition to the research teams, there is an industrial partner that will develop the materials for the market.

MINT will receive $600,000 in funding over four years from the National Science Foundation. Total funding for the project is approximately $1.6 million.

Suzuki said the research is currently focusing on the potential of manganese alloys to be used as alternative material for production of permanent magnets.

“In magnetic materials, several attractive candidates are manganese and its compounds, since they are naturally abundant and thus cheap,” Suzuki said. “Scientifically, their property is also attractive, since the magnetic strength can be varied by changing their atomic distance.”

However, the project is not only aimed at finding an alternative to rare-earth materials, but also materials that will operate more efficiently and effectively. Potentially, the new materials they are working to develop will be able to open new doors for technological advancement.

“The materials we are developing will exhibit similar or higher strength of magnets, and thus they will be lighter, and smaller,” Suzuki said.

Research is already under way, and both undergraduate and graduate students will have opportunities to take part in the project. The University has recognized the importance of the project as well as its potential to be a great educational opportunity for students. Suzuki said the University purchased a state-of-the-art machine necessary for the research.

Funding for the project will end in September 2016, but there are no plans to let that date signal the end of the project.

“We will continue even after that,” Suzuki said. “Research will never finish but continues for better performance.”