稀土永磁是一项成熟的技术，但2011年稀土危机的冲击导致人们重新考量20世纪80年代和90年代的许多关于几乎不含稀土（或重稀土）的新型硬磁材料的想法。Nd-Fe-B永磁通过精心巧妙的优化，适用于需要以合理成本获得高性能的广泛应用领域。当需要高温稳定性时，Sm-Co是首选材料，而某些应用也逐渐开始使用Sm-Fe-N磁体。对这些基本材料的元素替代改进的范围已经进行了相当深入的探讨，同时制备技术对微观结构和磁滞现象的影响也已深入了解。上一代的一个很宏大的想法，即制备交换耦合硬/软纳米复合的各向异性磁体，来显著提高创纪录的磁能积。然而，事实证明这很难实现。尽管如此，该领域已取得发展，而其他领域的创新也在不断蓬勃发展。例如，电动私人交通已经从电动自行车发展到电驱动的汽车和卡车成为主流，并且由此可见，电动运输很有可能结束内燃机的主导地位。随着越来越清晰地了解特定永磁体的局限性，人们开始围绕它进行具有独创性和想象力的设计，并最有效地利用了可用的稀土资源混合物。此外，机器人技术正在吸引着巨大的新市场，而且人们才刚刚开始探索增材制造所提供的机会。提高磁体高温稳定性的新方法也正在开发中，并且具有其他有用特性的硬磁体的集成多功能性也正在设想中。这些研究课题将在本文中通过各种示例进行详细说明。

Rare earth permanent magnets constitute a mature technology, but the shock of the 2011 rare earth crisis led to the re-evaluation of many ideas from the 1980s and 1990s about possible new hard magnets containing little or no rare earth (or heavy rare earth). Nd–Fe–B magnets have been painstakingly and skillfully optimized for a wide range of applications in which high performance is required at reasonable cost. Sm–Co is the material of choice when high-temperature stability is required, and Sm–Fe–N magnets are making their way into some niche applications. The scope for improvement in these basic materials by substitution has been rather thoroughly explored, and the effects of processing techniques on the microstructure and hysteresis are largely understood. A big idea from a generation ago—which held real potential to raise the record energy product significantly—was the oriented exchange-spring hard/soft nanocomposite magnet; however, it has proved very difficult to realize. Nevertheless, the field has evolved, and innovation has flourished in other areas. For example, electrical personal transport has progressed from millions of electric bicycles to the point where cars and trucks with electrical drives are becoming mainstream, and looks ready to bring the dominance of the internal combustion engine to an end. As the limitations of particular permanent magnets become clearer, ingenuity and imagination are being used to design around them, and to exploit the available mix of rare earth resources most efficiently. Huge new markets in robotics beckon, and the opportunities offered by additive manufacturing are just beginning to be explored. New methods of increasing magnet stability at elevated temperature are being developed, and integrated multifunctionality of hard magnets with other useful properties is now envisaged. These themes are elaborated here, with various examples.