Russia’s Solikamsk Magnesium Plant Launches Industrial Production of Rare Earth-Containing Magnesium Alloys
Solikamsk Magnesium Plant (SMP), a subsidiary of Russia’s Rosatom, recently announced that it has launched industrial production of magnesium alloys containing rare earth elements such as neodymium, cerium, and lanthanum. These new-type materials combine lightweight and high-strength properties, can significantly reduce structural weight and improve equipment energy efficiency, and are recyclable, classifying them as “green engineering” materials. The products are mainly targeted at aerospace, automotive manufacturing, energy, and the oil and gas industries. The introduction of rare earth additives enhanced the material’s load resistance and extended the service life of key components. Solikamsk Magnesium Plant began magnesium production in 1936 and started extracting rare earth metals from loparite concentrate in 1958. At present, the plant accounts for 100% of Russia’s capacity for rare earth compounds, niobium, and tantalum, as well as 75% of magnesium and 4% of titanium production.
Fraunhofer’s “Magnesium-Based Hydrogen Paste” Technology Faces Questions Over System-Level Efficiency and Cost
The Powerpaste technology developed by Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute recently sparked renewed discussion. Based on magnesium hydride, the technology releases hydrogen through reaction with water for use in fuel cells, aiming to avoid the safety and cost challenges of high-pressure hydrogen storage. However, independent analysis indicated that its full-system performance fell far short of promotional claims.
The core issues lie in energy density and efficiency. According to estimates, producing 1 kg of hydrogen requires about 10 kg of hydrogen paste and 9 kg of purified water, for a total weight of 19 kg, corresponding to a system-level energy density of only about 0.3-0.4 kWh/kg, comparable to lithium batteries rather than superior to them. Upstream magnesium production consumes as much as 80-110 kWh/kg hydrogen, resulting in an electricity-to-electricity full-chain efficiency of only about 10%. The reaction process releases a large amount of heat, about 19 kWh/kg hydrogen, requiring complex thermal management. Hydrogen output rates are limited, and purification is required to make it compatible with proton exchange membrane fuel cells. On the cost side, magnesium production energy consumption alone raised costs by $4-$11/kg hydrogen, not yet including system hardware and logistics.
Fraunhofer’s claimed cost of 2 euros per kilogram of hydrogen paste covers only raw materials, while the full system cost is an order of magnitude higher. The recycling chain has also not been closed, as smelting magnesium hydroxide back into magnesium requires high energy consumption. The analysis held that the technology is suitable only for demonstration scenarios in the hundreds-of-watts to kilowatt range and cannot meet large power demands such as ships. In essence, it is “energy destruction” rather than energy storage, and no system-level advantage exists.
