6F YANMAR TOKYO, 2-1-1, Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028 Japan
Tel +81-(0)3-3274-5125

Fax +81-(0)3-3274-5103

https://www.hondafoundation.jp/en

Press Release
September 29, 2023

The Honda Prize 2023 Awarded to Dr. Masato Sagawa and Dr. John J. Croat—Invention of the Neodymium (Nd-Fe-B) magnet and their contributions to
its practical application—
The Honda Foundation is a public interest incorporated foundation established by Soichiro
Honda and his younger brother Benjiro, and it is currently led by President Hiroto Ishida. The
foundation established the Honda Prize in 1980 as Japan’s first international award that
acknowledges achievements contributing to “the creation of a truly humane civilization.” In
2023, the 44th Honda Prize will be awarded to Dr. Masato Sagawa (an advisor to Daido SteelCo., Ltd. and the president of NDFEB Corporation) and Dr. John J. Croat (former president ofJohn Croat Consulting, Inc.), both of whom invented the world’s most powerful permanent
magnet, the neodymium magnet. They established two different methods for manufacturing
the magnet at approximately the same time—but completely independently.

Daido Electronics Co., Ltd.

Daido Electronics Co., Ltd.

Sintered neodymium magnet

Bonded neodymium magnet

Permanent magnets play an important role as a fundamental material in modern society andare widely used across various industries, including electronics, industrial machinery, andautomobiles. When Dr. Sagawa and Dr. Croat started their research, the most powerfulmagnet was the samarium-cobalt (Sm-Co) magnet, developed in 1969.
In their independent research projects, both Dr. Sagawa and Dr. Croat pursued the potentialof magnetic materials using iron (Fe), which is more abundant and has a greater magnetic
moment*1 than cobalt. They added the rare earth element neodymium (Nd), in place ofsamarium, and a small amount of boron (B) to the iron-based magnet, thereby creating the NdFe-B permanent magnet. In 1982, at roughly the same time, Dr. Sagawa presented a paper on
the sintering process, and Dr. Croat presented his paper on the rapid solidification process as
their magnet manufacturing methods.

-1-The arrival of the neodymium magnet (Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet), which shows a highcoercivity even with a piece just a few millimeters in size, enabled a significant size reduction
in motors and hard disk drives, thereby advancing IT usage in society. The neodymium
magnet now occupies 95% of the permanent magnet market for the use of motors in windturbines and in electric and hybrid vehicles. This magnet accomplished the wider
electrification of motor operations while improving motor efficiency, which in turnsignificantly contributes to reducing CO2 emissions.
Over the years, the Honda Foundation has been promoting as its mission "ecotechnology,”*2
which aims to contribute to the development of scientific technology and humankind,
harmonizing both the human and natural environments. As the inventions are fully in accord
with this mission, the Prize will be awarded to Dr. Sagawa and Dr. Croat for their inventions,which are worthy of the highest recognition.
The award ceremony will be held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan on November 16,
2023. In addition to the prize medals and the diplomas, the laureates will be awarded a totalof 10 million yen.
*1 Magnetic moment : A measurement of the strength of attraction of a magnetic field*2 Ecotechnology : A neologism combining an image of the natural world (ecology), technology within
the context of civilization as a whole. It was advocated by the Honda Foundation in 1979 and seeks
new technological concepts required by human society to further the coexistence of people andtechnology.

[The Honda Foundation]
The Honda Foundation was established in December 1977 with a donation fromSoichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and his younger brother,
Benjiro. The Foundation defines approaches to resolve issues by harmonizing thehuman and natural environments in "ecotechnology." The Foundation focuses on thefollowing three activities to develop and disseminate ecotechnology.
(1) Honda Prize: An international award that acknowledges significant achievementsin the field of ecotechnology(2) International symposia and colloquia: Providing opportunities for extensive
discussions into various issues of modern society to search for resolutions(3) Honda Y-E-S Program: Various programs designed to develop young talented
engineers and scientists for the next generation
The Foundation aims to contribute to “the creation of a truly humane civilization“ throughthese activities.

-2-

History of Permanent Magnet Research: Development Commenced in Response to Social
DemandA permanent magnet produces a magnetic field automatically and constantly without any
external energy supply. The first permanent magnet was found in naturally occurring mineralin Magnesia, Greece, in about 600 BCE. An artificial permanent magnet was developed by Dr.
Kotaro Honda in 1917, which was followed by various other types of artificial magnets. At thesame time, research on a magnet that combined cobalt and a rare earth also progressed. In
1969, Dutch scientist K.H.J. Buschow and his colleagues established a compression molding
process to manufacture magnets, and this process enabled the commercialization ofsamarium-cobalt permanent magnets.
However, both samarium and cobalt are rare earth elements, primary produced in Africa
which entails associated price rise risks. As it is essential to secure stable mass production forindustrial use magnets, what was really sought was a high-performance magnet made fromabundant and low-priced materials.
Dr. Sagawa’s Research: Invention of the Neodymium Magnet and Sintering Process
In 1975, Dr. Masato Sagawa was working on research to reinforce the mechanical strength of
the samarium-cobalt magnet. In this research, he was questioning why magnets made fromiron, which is abundantly available and has a high magnetic moment, does not exhibit a highcoercivity. Meanwhile, he learned that the development of rare earth and iron (R-Fe) magnets
had been difficult due to the small interatomic distances between the iron atoms. With thisknowledge, he developed a hypothesis that adding elements with a small atomic radiusbetween the iron atoms would expand the iron’s interatomic distance. He then started making
alloys of various compositions by putting different minerals into an arc furnace. He choseelements with small atomic diameters, such as carbon and boron, as additives to the R-Fe alloy,
and tested various rare earth elements, including samarium and neodymium. In 1978, heeventually found that the combination of neodymium, iron, and boron produced the greatest
coercivity.
Dr. Sagawa’s detailed study then extended from various compositions to different
manufacturing conditions, including different particle sizes of alloy powder and thermal
applications. As a result, he established his own sintering process, in which the magnetic
powder is compressed in a mold for shaping and then sintered to form bonds between theparticles to reinforce the mechanical strength.
Sintered neodymium magnets showed a maximum energy product*3 of 320 kJ/m3 (themaximum energy of the samarium-cobalt magnet at that time was 240 kJ/m3). Mass
production of the magnet began only three years from the time that Dr. Sagawa applied forthe patent in August 1982. This permanent magnet was originally used in automobiles andhome appliances, but today it is used extensively throughout the world, for example, in EV
motors and wind turbines.
-3-Dr. Croat’s Research: Invention of the Neodymium Magnet and the Rapid
Solidification Process
In 1972 Dr. Croat joined the Magnetic Materials Group of the General Motors ResearchLaboratories whose mission was to develop high performance, low-cost permanent
magnets for use in automotive components. The world economy was confronted withthe 1973 OPEC oil embargo which significantly increased gasoline prices worldwide
and greatly stimulated the search for lighter weight automobiles with greater fueleconomy. Although SmCo5 magnets had been discovered in the 1960s, all permanent
magnet researchers dreamed of discovering a lower cost permanent magnet composedof the more abundant, lower cost rare earth elements Nd and Pr in combination with Fe.
In 1982 Dr. Croat discovered the ternary intermetallic phase Nd2Fe14B while
investigating the effect of various "glass forming elements" like silicon, carbon andboron on the properties of rapidly solidified Nd-Fe and Pr-Fe alloys. This intermetallic
phase is the basis of all families of NdFeB permanent magnets currently being
produced. The rapidly solidified material became the basis for a new family of
magnetically isotropic bonded permanent magnets. Although the magnetic strengthof these bonded magnet is lower than that of a sintered magnet, the alternate method
for producing NdFeB magnets, thin-walled bonded ring magnets with high thermal
stability can be rapidly produced that have found wide application in small motors fora wide range of industrial, consumer electronic and computer peripheral applications.
Such thin-walled ring magnets are almost impossible to produce by the sintering
process.
Dr. Croat’s process was later developed into a hot-deformed process in which
nanocrystalline magnetic powder made by the rapid solidification process is hotdeformed in a mold. This led to the development of a family of hot-deformed
neodymium magnet that possessed an equivalent strength to that of a sintered magnet.
Notably, the process was capable of producing thin-walled, axially oriented ringmagnet that are currently being used in high-end servo and stepper motors.
Present and Future of Neodymium Magnets: Overcoming Challenges and Widening
Applications
Neodymium magnets suffered from low thermal durability compared to samarium-cobalt
magnets when applied in industrial purposes. This issue was addressed by adding
dysprosium (Dy), another rare earth element, which improved the magnet’s thermal
durability to nearly 200°C, thereby enabling applications in motors.
The magnet requires the proportion of dysprosium to be approximately one-third of theneodymium by weight to make it thermally durable; however, the estimated global reservesof dysprosium are less than one-tenth those of neodymium. This forced the research to reduce
the use of dysprosium. A solution was eventually found in the technological innovation of-4-

grain boundary diffusion, *4 which significantly improved the coercivity at the same time.
Forty years after its invention, uses and applications of the neodymium magnet are
widening. Its powerful coercivity contributes to both the downsizing and weight reduction of
motors. Sintered magnets are used in a range of areas, including automobiles, air conditioners,
hard disk drives, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, elevators, and industrial machinery,
contributing to energy saving. The easy-to-shape bonded neodymium magnets are found tobe particularly useful in small sites where compact yet high-performance magnets are required,such as spindle motors in hard disk drives, small motors in automobiles, and mobile phone
speakers. The hot-deformed neodymium magnet is mainly used in driving motors and electric
power steering motors for automobiles.
Demand for neodymium magnets is expected to greatly increase—particularly for motors
in the next generation of electric vehicles (xEVs), wind turbines, drones, and electric airplanes.
Therefore, it is necessary to improve the magnet’s characteristics even further. Neodymium
magnets also support the evolution of energy-saving technologies designed to reduce CO2
emissions. This is another factor that would further increase demand for the magnet towards
achieving carbon neutrality. The importance of streamlining manufacturing is also increasing,including improving resource efficiency and recycling technology.
Expectations are further rising for the continued development of magnetic materials toimprove their characteristics and to resolve any issues in their manufacture.
*3 Maximum energy product : The maximum value of the energy obtained from a magnetic material.
*4 Grain boundary diffusion : A method to diffuse heavy rare-earth elements—which tend to spreadover the surface of the magnet—into the intergranular spaces by applying high temperatures. The
heavy rare-earth elements are dispersed through the spaces between crystal grains (grainboundaries) and concentrate on the surface of neighboring crystal grains. This improves thermal
durability with a smaller amount of heavy rare-earth elements, while preventing any reduction in
the coercivity due to unwanted local concentrations of the heavy rare-earth elements.

For more information, contact the Honda Foundation via:
phone at +81-3-3274-5125 or fax at +81-3-3274-5103
6F YANMAR TOKYO, 2-1-1 Yaesu, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0028 Japan
https://www.hondafoundation.jp/en/
You may also contact Honda Motor’s Corporate PR Department via:
phone at +81-3-5412-1512.

-5-Dr. Masato Sagawa
Adviser, Daido Steel Co., Ltd.
President, NDFEB Corporation
Born
August 3, 1943, Tokushima, Japan

Education
1966

B. A., Department of Electrical Engineering, Kobe University

1968

M. A., Department of Electrical Engineering, Kobe University

1972

Dr. Eng., Metallurgical Materials Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University

Employment History
1972-1982

Fujitsu Ltd.

1982-1988

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (now Proterial, Ltd.)

1988-2012

Established Intermetallics Co., Ltd., Appointed as Representative Director

2013-present

Established NDFEB Corporation, Appointed as Representative Director

2016-present

Adviser, Daido Steel Co., Ltd.

2017-2019

Adviser, Nippon Densan Co., Ltd. (now NIDEC Corporation)

2017-2019

Specially Appointed Professor, Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University

2019-present

Distinguished Invited University Professor, Tohoku University

2019-present

Guest Professor, Central Iron & Steel Research Institute, China

2022-present

Senior Fellow, Research Promotion Organization for Carbon Neutrality, Meijo University

Awards
1984

Osaka Science Prize

1985

Minister of Science and Technology Agency Award

1986

International Prize for New Materials, American Physical Society(now James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials)

1988

The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials Meritorious Award

1990

Asahi Prize

1991

Japan Magnetics Society Award

1993

Okochi Memorial Prize

1998

Acta Metallurgica J. Hollomon Award

2003

Honda-Kinen Prize2006

Kato-Kinen Prize

2012

Japan Prize

2016

Special Award, Nagamori Award

2018

NIMS Award 2018

2020

The Japan Institute of Metals and Materials Gold Medal Award

2022

Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering

2022

IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies

Publications- “Permanent Magnets: Materials Science and Applications”, Masato Sagawa, Masaaki Hamano, Makoto
Hirabayashi, AGNE Gijutsu Center Inc., ISBN 978-4-901496-38-4 (2007)- “All About Neodymium Magnets: Protecting the Earth with Rare Earths”, Masato Sagawa, AGNE
Gijutsu Center Inc.,
ISBN 978-4-901496-58-2 (2011)- “The Work Style of the Strongest Engineer”, Shuji Nakamura, Masato Sagawa, Jitsumukyoiku-Shuppan
Co., Ltd.
ISBN 978-4-788911-95-6 (2016)

Dr. John J. Croat
Former President, John Croat Consulting Inc.
Born
May 23, 1943, Iowa, U.S.A. (U.S.A. citizenship)

Education
1965

BA Degree, Simpson College, Indianola Iowa, U.S.A.

1968

MS Degree, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa, U.S.A.

1972

PhD Degree, Iowa State University, Ames Iowa, U.S.A.

Employment History
1972-1980

Research Metallurgist, General Motors Research Labs., Warren Michigan (USA).

1980-1984

Senior Research Metallurgist, GM Research Labs., Warren Michigan.

1984-1986

Asst. Chief Process Engineer, Delco Remy Div. GM Corporation

1986-1990

Chief Engineer, Magnequench, Delco Remy Div., GM Corporation

1990-1996

Managing Director, Magnequench, Delco Remy Div., GM Corporation

1996-2004

President, Advanced Magnetic Materials (AMM) Korat, Thailand

2004-2017

President, John Croat Consulting Inc.

Prizes and Honors
1985

Applications of Physics Prize, American Institute of Physics

1985

Distinguished Alumni Award, Iowa State University

1986

International Prize for New Materials, American Physical Society(now James C. McGroddy Prize for New Materials)

1994

Outstanding Engineering Achievement Award, American Society of Metals

2022

IEEE Award for Environmental and Safety Technology

Publications- Books
1. Rapidly Solidified NdFeB Permanent Magnets, Elsevier Published, Published 2018.
2. Modern Permanent Magnets, Elsevier Publishing, Published 2022. Co-edited with John Ormerod.

- Journal Publications
1. The Properties, Preparation and Handling of Pure Rare Earth Metals, Proc. Interamerican Conference on
Material Technology, San Antonio, TX, May 20-24, 1968.
2. The Preparation and Properties of “Ultra Pure Metals”, Proc. International Conference on Rare Earth
Metals, Paris, France, Vol. I, Page 27 (1969).

3. Magnetic Properties of High Purity Scandium and the Effects of Impurities on These Properties, J. of
Chem. Phys., 58, No. 12, 5514 (1973).
4. Magnetic Properties of High Purity Yttrium, Lanthanum and Lutetium and the Effects of Impurities on
These Properties, J. Chem. Phys., 59, No. 5, 2451 (1973).
5. Preparation and Coercive Force of Melt-Spun Pr-Fe Alloys, Appl. Phys. Lett. 37(12) 1096 (1980).
6. Crystallization and Magnetic Properties of Melt-Spun Nd-Fe Alloys, J. Magn. and Magn. Matl., 24, 125(1981).
7. Magnetic Properties of Melt-Spun Pr-Fe Alloys, J. Appl. Phys. 52(3), 2509 (1981).
8. Observation of Large Room Temperature Coercivity in Melt-Spun Nd0.4Fe0.6, Appl. Phys. Lett. 39(4),357 (1981).
9. Melt-Spun R0,4Fe0.6 Alloys: Dependence of coercivity on Quench Rate, J. Appl. Phys., 53(3), 2404
(1982).
10. Magnetic Hardening of Pr-Fe and Nd-Fe Alloys by Melt Spinning, J. appl. Phys., 53(3), 3161 (1982).
11. High Energy Product Nd-Fe-B Permanent Magnets, Appl. Phys. Lett. 44(1), 148 (1984).
12. Pr-Fe and Nd-Fe-based Materials: A New Class of High Performance Magnets, J. Appl. Phys. 55(6),2078 (1984).
13. Relationship Between Crystal Structure and Magnetic Properties in Nd2F214B, Phys. Rev. B, 29(7),4126 (1984).
14. Structural and Magnetic Properties of Nd2Fe14B, J. Appl. Phys. 57(1), 4086 (1984).
15. High performance Nd-Fe-B Magnets by Rapid Solidification, Proc. Conf. on Rare Earth Developments
and Applications, Beijing, China, Sept. 1985.
16. Neodymium-Iron-Boron Magnets by Rapid Solidification, J. Matl. Eng., Vol. 10, No 1, 7 (1988).
17. Properties of Nd-Fe-B Anisotropic Powder Prepared from Rapidly Solidified Materials, J. Appl. Phys.,64(10), 5293 (1988).
18. Rare Earth-Iron-Boron Permanent Magnets by Rapid Solidification Processing, Material Science andEngineering, 99, Nov. 1988.
19. Neodymium-Iron-boron Magnets by Rapid Solidification, J. Mater. Eng., Vol. 10, No. 1, 1988.
20. Manufacture of Nd-Fe-B Permanent Magnets by Rapid Solidification, J. Less Common Metals, 148, 7(1989)
21. Properties of Bonded NdFeB Anisotropic Magnets, J. Appl. Phys., 70(10), 6465 (1991).
22. Microstructure of Rapidly Solidified Nd-Fe-Co-B Alloys, IEEE Trans. Magn., 28 (5), 2853 (1992).
23. Current Status and Future Outlook for Bonded Neodymium Permanent Magnets, J. Appl. Phys., 81 (8),April 15, 1997.