LG Electronics develops technology to recover rare earths from waste appliances

LG Electronics has developed a new technology to recover rare earth permanent magnets from discarded household appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners. By extracting these critical minerals from compressors, the company aims to stabilize the supply chain for materials essential to electric vehicles, industrial motors, and consumer electronics.

To overcome the difficulty of separating magnets due to their strong magnetic force, LG Electronics developed a demagnetization technology that uses magnetic fields rather than high heat. This method reduces energy consumption and preserves the physical properties of the magnets. The process also integrates vision artificial intelligence (AI) to identify the size, shape, and precise location of magnets within compressors to optimize the separation process.

LG Electronics signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a pilot project with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and E-Cycle Governance. Through this initiative, the company targets the recovery of approximately 1.6 tons of rare earth permanent magnets annually from roughly 40,000 discarded appliances. The recovered materials will be used to develop technologies for producing new magnets, contributing to a circular economy.