A Belfast company has received a £1.72m grant from the government to develop a magnet recycling plant.

Magnets are used in various tech items, including smart phones, electric cars and MRI machines.

SerenTech is one of just a few magnet recycling plants outside China.

The company began as a spinout from Queen’s University in 2015 and currently has 11 full-time staff. It hopes to expand its workforce with 25 more jobs next year.

Professor Peter Nockemann from Queen’s University said it is more sustainable to recycle existing magnets than to create new ones by mining ores.

“We’re talking about rare earth metals that are very energy intensive, very wasteful in the whole process and so if we recycle these metals we produce less waste, and use up less energy,” he said.

“The magnets come, for example, from car manufacturers at the end of life. They can be recycled and go back into these cars, so that’s the whole supply chain.

“Windmills contain 1.5 tonnes of these magnets so it’s very critical for the energy transition towards net zero that these magnets actually get recycled.

“Our technology brings them back to virgin magnets so they have the same lifespan and the same efficiency as new magnets.

“However recycling has its own challenges, it’s also very energy intensive, it produces waste.

“That’s where we developed new technology; at QUB laboratories we came up with a method to very efficiently separate the metals based on an ionic liquid technology.”

Ibom eLibrary was established in 2012, built by Akwa Ibom State Government.

This state owned library is West Africa’s first digital library, and one of the biggest digital libraries in Africa.

Security/Safety of Ibom eLibrary

This is a very safe location.

What To Bring

Before heading to Ibom eLibrary, here are some helpful things to take along with you:

• Educational materials
• Your laptop

Best Features

This educational structure consists of a state-of-the-art Video Conferencing Hall, an e-Learning facility which is primarily designed for ICT trainings, e-Testing centers and certification undertakings, board/meeting room for leasing, short-term office space, a crèche and daycare, a Smart classroom and a reprography unit.

A children multi-media resource centre, 1,260 educational games for children; 1,000 simulations and mathematics practice tools were also ready at the time of commissioning, as well as a large external playground, open and private reading areas and children reading areas with story-telling/play facilities as well as 80,000 question and answer series for tertiary examinations.

The library which is a state-owned is the first digital type in West Africa, Also Ibom library is one of the biggest libraries in Africa.

Structure

Ibom library is an ultramodern complex with flamboyant facilities which aid education and academic research. It has capacity to occupy 1000 persons ,the library was divided into private and open sections as well as board rooms and offices.

Fort Fincastle is a historic fortress that is located atop Bennet’s Hill which overlooks the northern part of the capital city of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Nassau.

Built in 1793 by the fourth Earl of Dunmore, Lord John Murray, who is generally known as Lord Dunmore with the purpose of protecting the city, nowadays the fortress is presented as one of the greatest landmarks of the nation.

Accessed most of the time via the Queen’s Staircase, this fort that has the shape of a paddle-steamer, got its name from the Lord Dunmore’s second title, Viscount Fincastle.

As it is overlooking Nassau and even Paradise Island, throughout its history, the fortress had several roles, where once it served as a lighthouse as well until September 1817 when it was replaced by the lighthouse on Paradise Island.

Built entirely from solid limestone which was unfortunately carved by slaves, there were six cannons of different sizes who largely did their job in protecting the important commercial center of the nation.

Luckily, as we are living in somewhat peaceful times, Fort Fincastle is enjoying a flock of visitors all the time who are learning a bit more history about the Bahamas.