Seems to be a lot of research into magnets at the moment. They could help with batteries and data storage. https://phys.org/news/2018-10-scientists-high-temperature-single-molecule-magnet.html https://phys.org/news/2018-10-breakthrough-accessing-tiny-magnet-core.html
https://phys.org/news/2018-11-magnetic-materials-motors-future.html Better magnets can also mean more efficient motors and we waste a lot of energy to driving motors. So this is an interesting twist, motors with better magnets that don't heat up so much, therefor not wasting energy. These could lead to smaller, lighter motors or more pull for the same size motor.
https://phys.org/news/2019-10-magnetics-scientists-image.html A new way of measuring antiferromagnetic devices has been developed which could help develop better magnetic storage of data. "This unlocks a whole new realm in terms of what you can do in antiferromagnetic devices. Now I can control the textures in these materials, and then see how the spins are oriented." Sensors seem to be the big thing at the moment in a lot of fields. The better and more diverse ways you can observe something, the more you can learn and fine tune it.
