A national technology development framework has gone into motion to reduce reliance on China for rare earth permanent magnets, the core components in motors for cutting-edge industries such as electric vehicles, robotics and defense. The Ministry of Science and ICT (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and ICT Bae Kyung-hoon) announced that the ‘K-Moonshot Rare Earth Industry-Academia-Research Council’ was launched on October 1 at the Koreana Hotel in Seoul.
 [코리안투데이] Launch ceremony of the K-Moonshot Rare Earth Industry-Academia-Research Council © 장형임 기자 |
Rare earth permanent magnets deliver magnetic performance more than ten times greater than ordinary magnets while retaining that performance at high temperatures, making them essential components in motors for electric vehicles, robots and the defense industry. Korea imports from China a substantial share of both the raw materials — rare earth elements such as neodymium (Nd), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb) — and the finished permanent magnets themselves. Because the supply chain is concentrated in a single country, concerns that it is directly tied to economic security have been raised continuously.
The council emerged from the ‘materials’ field, one of the 12 missions under the ‘K-Moonshot’ program the Ministry of Science and ICT is pursuing. The goal of the materials mission is to develop the world’s highest-performing permanent magnets that substitute for, reduce or recycle rare earth elements, internalizing manufacturing and recycling technologies within the country so that they remain steady even amid supply chain crises.
The K-Moonshot Rare Earth program will be pursued from 2027, bringing together the capabilities of industry, academia and research institutes centered on the Korea Institute of Materials Science, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology. There are two core tasks. One is to develop a permanent magnet manufacturing process that completely excludes heavy rare earth elements and extremely reduces the use of light rare earth elements; the other is to secure technology that recovers rare earth elements in an environmentally friendly way from end-of-life waste permanent magnets. The project is divided into Phase 1 (2027-2029), securing homegrown original technology, and Phase 2 (2030-2033), advancing the technology and demonstrating it at industrial sites.
Artificial intelligence will be used throughout the research process. The plan is to apply AI from multiple angles — in discovering candidate materials for rare earth substitution and reduction, designing particle microstructures, and exploring eco-friendly solvents and electrodes — to solve difficult challenges and accelerate development.
The council launched that day drew some 40 participants, including representatives of companies that use permanent magnets and of materials and recycling firms, universities and government-funded science and technology research institutes, and researchers from related academic societies. Chaired by the K-Moonshot materials program director (PD), the council will operate as a standing channel for communication, tasked with sharing technology and industry trends, identifying companies’ R&D needs, connecting firms for technology demonstration, and surfacing supply chain policy improvement tasks. At the launch ceremony, the ‘K-Moonshot Rare Earth 2035 Roadmap’ and the council’s operating plan were introduced, and after Sungrim Advanced Industry and S3R presented trends in the rare earth permanent magnet industry and the recycling industry respectively, an industry-academia-research roundtable followed.
Kim Sung-soo, director general for R&D policy at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, ‘Korea imports most of its rare earth elements and permanent magnets from China and faces a supply chain crisis in cutting-edge industries that is directly tied to economic security.’ He added, ‘Ultimately, we need a national capacity to reduce and recycle rare earth use, and we will provide unstinting support so that we can secure homegrown original technology for rare earth substitution, reduction and recycling by making the fullest use of the research capabilities accumulated at home and the demonstration base at industrial sites.’
The launch of this council carries significance beyond simply kicking off a research project, in that it builds a circular structure that replaces a key material long dependent on imports with domestic technology and reuses waste resources. It amounts to an attempt to fundamentally reduce the industrial instability that has recurred whenever the supply chain is shaken by external variables.
지역 홍보대사 신청 기자양성과정 신청 코리안투데이 지부장 신청 코리안투데이 인천강화코리안브랜드대상 신청 최고경영인대상 신청 소비자만족도대상 신청
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