The trip started off in a fantastic manor as it was situated in Hanau Germany, a quaint and picturesque setting especially when you consider it being the birthplace of the Grimm Brothers (although the outcome was much more positive than many of the stories the brothers created).

The range of topics covered at the event focused on a wide variety of magnetic materials both permanent and soft; often focused on the real-world practical applications of the most recent developments in these technologies. As an organiser of an event that aims to bring end user buying groups in front of upstream companies with solutions for their problems, it was fantastic to see how all this innovation within the industry is being used to improve solutions of the future, be that in energy, eMobility, supply chain security, etc.

One talk that was of particular interest, especially in relation to our upcoming European event, was by Dominik Ohmer of VACUUMSCHMELZE . The session explained about the SecREEts project (https://www.sintef.no/projectweb/secreets/), whose goal was a collaborative effort from multiple companies on the integration of a new European value chain for the extraction, refinement, and production of rare earth elements from European apatite sources used in fertiliser production. These various partners have worked extensively towards developing piloting processes to create more sustainable REEs for permanent magnet usage, many of which show promising results with replication potential in consumer products or medical applications alongside the various more traditional uses discussed.

Projects such as these are exactly the kind of collaborations that we wish to help facilitate in the future at The Magnetics Show. If Europe and America wish to re-create supply-chains to compete globally, it will take the collective efforts and resources of companies working together to produce viable alternatives.

A highlight of the event was tour of VACUUMSCHMELZE' magnetics factory facility in Hanau. As one of the key manufacturers of magnetic alloys and their downstream solutions in Europe, it was great to get a visceral sense of the scale and size of the facilities that I spend much of my time reading about or learning about.