RE:MAG Offshore

Project Overview

RE:MAG Offshore will examine how permanent magnets recovered from UK sources, including decommissioned wind turbines, automotive motors and other electrical machines, could be reused within offshore wind generators.

Rather than returning magnets completely to raw material, the project will assess practical reuse routes including inspection, grading, remachining where required, recoating, remagnetisation and combining smaller recovered magnets into protected functional assemblies.

The study will bring this materials work together with generator architecture, manufacturing, maintainability, safety and lifecycle economics. CGEN will compare how different generator layouts affect the ability to integrate recovered magnets and how this could influence generator refurbishment, replacement and life extension.

Objectives

• Define offshore wind generator intervention and life extension use cases where recovered magnets could provide practical value.
• Assess routes for inspecting, grading, recoating, remagnetising and reusing recovered permanent magnets.
• Compare how different generator architectures affect magnet integration, manufacture, maintainability and offshore intervention.
• Assess practical manufacturing, handling, inspection, quality assurance and supply chain requirements for recovered magnets.
• Review safety, installation and operational risks through structured design and process risk assessment.
• Evaluate the potential impact on generator cost, lifecycle economics, material supply risk and offshore wind life extension.
• Identify the technical and commercial evidence required to progress towards future industrial research, hardware validation and demonstration.

Why It Matters

As the offshore wind fleet ages, asset owners increasingly need practical routes to extend turbine life while managing component obsolescence, major replacement costs and long lead times.

Permanent magnets are also a strategically important material within modern wind generators. Reusing magnets already available within UK wind turbines, vehicles and other electrical machines could reduce dependence on new material while supporting a more circular UK supply chain.

RE:MAG Offshore connects these two challenges. By considering recovered magnet reuse alongside generator design, maintainability, manufacturing and lifecycle cost, the project aims to establish where reuse can provide a practical and commercially relevant route for future offshore wind generator refurbishment and life extension.