PREVIEW / CITATION / ENGLISH - "[...] Rare earths are an expensive and necessary component of strong permanent magnets. However, their use for this purpose can be optimised and thereby reduced. This has been demonstrated in computer simulations by a Special Research Program funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF. [...] High-end computer simulations, such as the computations from St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences, carried out as part of an FWF-funded Special Research Program, could make a major contribution to this optimization. [...] The development was achieved by Prof. Schrefl’s team as part of the Special Research Program ViCoM – Vienna Computational Materials Laboratory. [...] The spokesperson for the Special Research Program, Prof. Georg Kresse from the research group Computational Materials Physics at the University of Vienna, explained the aims of the Special Research Program: 'We want to describe the correlated movement of electrons more accurately. This electron correlation is mainly responsible for the cohesion of solid-state bodies and molecules. An accurate description is therefore crucial for precisely predicting the mechanical, electronic and optical properties of materials.' [...] In a total of twelve project groups, more than 50 scientists are working on describing material properties, which will be of key importance to numerous technologies of tomorrow, including microelectronics, solar technology and polymer production. What is more, the Special Research Program helps with the optimisation of magnetic and magneto-optical storage, as in high-performance permanent magnets for electric cars or wind turbines, thereby making a substantial contribution to developing future-oriented technologies. The work of this Special Research Program, which is funded by the FWF, therefore transcends mere scientific interest – as is clear from recent discussions about the availability and strategic importance of rare earths. It is a convincing testament to how insights acquired in basic research can rapidly gain unexpected import. [...]"

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