New research may help reduce reliance on rare earth elements used to power modern technology.
Scientists at the University of New Hampshire are using artificial intelligence to dramatically speed up the search for new magnetic materials. Their approach has produced a searchable database containing 67,573 magnetic materials, including 25 previously unknown compounds that retain their magnetism at high temperatures, a key requirement for many real-world applications.
“By accelerating the discovery of sustainable magnetic materials, we can reduce dependence on rare earth elements, lower the cost of electric vehicles and renewable energy systems, and strengthen the U.S. manufacturing base,” said Suman Itani, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in physics.
A bottleneck in magnetic materials
The new resource, called the Northeast Materials Database, is designed to make it easier for researchers to explore the vast range of magnetic materials that underpin modern technology, from smartphones and medical devices to power generators and electric vehicles.
Today’s most powerful permanent magnets depend heavily on rare earth elements that are costly, largely imported, and increasingly difficult to secure. Despite the fact that scientists know many magnetic compounds exist, none have yet replaced rare-earth-based magnets in widespread use, creating a major bottleneck in materials innovation.
Teaching AI to read the literature
In work published in the journal Nature Communications, the UNH team describes how they trained an artificial intelligence system to read and interpret decades of scientific papers. The system extracts key experimental details from the literature and feeds them into computer models that determine whether a material is magnetic and how much heat it can tolerate before losing that property. These results are then organized into a single, searchable database, allowing researchers to quickly identify promising candidates that would otherwise take years of laboratory testing to uncover.
Scientists know that many undiscovered magnetic compounds exist, but testing every possible combination of elements—potentially millions—in the lab is prohibitively time-consuming and expensive.
Toward rare-earth-free technologies
“We are tackling one of the most difficult challenges in materials science—discovering sustainable alternatives to permanent magnets—and we are optimistic that our experimental database and growing AI technologies will make this goal achievable,” said Jiadong Zang, physics professor and co-author.
Researchers, who also include co-author Yibo Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher in both physics and chemistry, say that moving forward, the modern large language model behind this project could have widespread use beyond this database, particularly in higher education. For instance, converting images to modern rich text format could also be used to modernize library holdings.
Reference: “The northeast materials database for magnetic materials” by Suman Itani, Yibo Zhang and Jiadong Zang, 24 October 2025, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64458-z
This work was supported by the Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering, U.S. Department of Energy, under Award No. DE-SC0020221.
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