LG Innotek Develops World's Strongest 'Eco-Friendly Magnet'... "Surpassing China and Japan"

Joint Project with Magnet Specialist Seongrim Advanced Industry... Reducing Environmental Pollution and Increasing Self-Power
Minimizing Risk of Car Production Halt Due to Zhonghui Rare Earth Supply Shortage
Expecting 10% Increase in Smartphone Camera Driving Force

An LG Innotek official is introducing an 'eco-friendly magnet' that reduces the use of medium-heavy rare earth elements by about 60% and strengthens the magnetic force to the world's highest level.
[Photo by LG Innotek]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] LG Innotek announced on the 13th that it has developed the world's strongest 'eco-friendly magnet' in collaboration with Seongrim Advanced Industry, a magnet specialist company.

The eco-friendly magnet is a product that reduces the use of heavy rare earth elements, the core components of magnets, by about 60% compared to existing products. It is an essential material used in products requiring motion, such as vehicle motors, smartphone cameras, audio speakers, and wind turbines, providing power through the pushing and pulling force of magnets.

LG Innotek has increased the magnetic strength of this product to a world-class level of 14.8 kG (kilogauss). The performance of currently commercialized products is 14.2 to 14.3 kG.

South Korea imports most of its heavy rare earth elements from countries like China. Additionally, Japan has led the magnet industry for over 40 years with its technological prowess and quality. LG Innotek evaluated that this eco-friendly magnet development presents an opportunity to surpass China and Japan.

This product is expected to be useful for automakers and vehicle parts companies that are striving to reduce the proportion of heavy rare earth elements. Since heavy rare earths are produced only in certain countries and the recent expansion of electric vehicles has caused supply shortages, this development is timely.

According to LG Innotek, applying the strong magnetic eco-friendly magnet to vehicle steering motors can reduce motor size while delivering high output. This is expected to be beneficial for electric and hybrid vehicles, which need to consider energy efficiency as battery weight increases.

Moreover, equipping high-resolution smartphone cameras with eco-friendly magnets can increase the actuator (a component that moves the lens to focus) driving force by about 10%, enabling clearer photos and videos.

Previously, LG Innotek began developing eco-friendly magnets in 2017 and joined forces with Seongrim Advanced Industry, which possesses heavy rare earth reduction technology among domestic companies, in 2019. The two companies developed a coating solution for eco-friendly magnets that uses less heavy rare earth by adding new compounds while achieving the highest magnetic strength, and secured technology to evenly absorb this solution into magnets.

In this process, LG Innotek introduced a machine learning (a technology where computers learn data to automatically make judgments and produce results) simulation method, cutting the development period, which usually takes at least two years, in half.

LG Innotek plans to introduce the advantages of eco-friendly magnets to global automakers, vehicle parts companies, and smartphone manufacturers, and expand applications to air conditioners, refrigerators, drones, urban flying cars, and generators. In the future, it also plans to accelerate the development of 'rare-earth-free magnets' that contain no rare earth elements at all.

Kang Min-seok, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of LG Innotek, said, "We expect to reliably supply customers with products that have the best performance and quality by developing core materials in a short period through innovative technology," adding, "We will continue to provide differentiated value to customers through eco-friendly magnets."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.