China-born scientist's magnet made without rare earth element could now help US

Yahoo

26-04-2025

An innovation that came into existence years ago could now help the United States tackle China's dominance in a key sector.
A scientist working at the University of Minnesota lab years ago developed the world's first iron nitride magnet, a revolutionary technology forged from iron and nitrogen without using rare earth elements.
As of now, China dominates rare earth exports with 92% of global refining.
The world's largest exporter of rare earth minerals is currently restricting exports to the United States.Playing a key role in almost everything from EV motors to wind turbines and MRI machines, rare earth magnets now have an alternative.
Niron Magnetics, the spin-off created by University of Minnesota materials scientist Jian-Ping Wang, is offering rare earth-free permanent magnets.
The company claims these are useful for consumer electronics and the motor powering industry. Permanent magnets are the invisible force that converts electricity to motion in your daily devices. "We produce the world's only high performance, rare-earth-free permanent magnets. Our Iron Nitride magnet technology and world-leading magnetics expertise enhance the applications that use magnets to help revolutionize your industry," said the company in a statement.
The China-born scientist's innovation is now expected to help the United States overcome China's dominance in the supply of rare earth minerals. Wang earned his PhD at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and spent decades in studying magnetism.
The raw materials for Niron's magnets are globally abundant and 100% domestically sourced, creating a permanently secure supply chain.
The company also claims that their magnets offer advanced performance as Iron Nitride has the greatest flux of any material known and unlocks fundamental advantages in device design.
Niron maintains that their streamlined process scales to meet demand using equipment proven in the industry, from nanoparticles to finished magnets.
At a time when the Asian giant is tightening export controls on critical minerals like samarium and dysprosium, Niron's innovation promises a key alternative.
Niron's magnets excel under 200 degrees Celsius (392 Fahrenheit), high-temperature applications still rely on China-controlled alloys.
Even with its first Minnesota factory breaking ground this year, scaling production to match soaring global demand, projected to triple by 2035, will test limits.
The company claims that innovators could achieve next-generation device performance with Iron Nitride magnets. "More efficient motors. Better temperature stability. These are the permanent magnets reshaping tomorrow's technologies, and helping you achieve your design goals today," said the company in the statement.
Niron's proprietary Clean Earth Magnet technology, based on Iron Nitride, enables magnets that possess inherently high magnetization. These are expected to enable a revolution in the design of new electric motors and generators.
"We have got overwhelming interest from customers in our technology, especially over the last several years as the trade tensions between China and the U.S. have increased, and as China has used the rare earth technology as a bargaining chip in response to the US restricting semiconductor technology," said Jonathan Rowntree, CEO of Niron Magnetics.