Korean engineers just made powerful magnets without the two rarest ingredients in them

The strongest magnets — the kind inside electric-vehicle motors and robots — usually need small amounts of dysprosium or terbium, two scarce and expensive 'heavy rare earth' elements, to keep working when hot. Researchers at the Korea Institute of Materials Science have developed a complete process for making neodymium magnets without either element: synthesising ultra-pure powder about one micrometre across, and solving the oxidation, alignment and residue problems that had blocked the approach. The work, announced October 23, produced nine related patents and appeared in two journals; the next step is linking the steps into mass production.

SDG 9 · Industry, innovation and infrastructure — Mechanism: tech innovation