Niron Magnetics opens clean earth magnet commercial pilot plant in USA
November 4, 2024
Niron Magnetics, located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, has opened a commercial pilot plant that will focus on developing the company’s Clean Earth Magnets. Composed of iron and nitrogen, these magnets could serve as an alternative to rare-earth magnets. They have the potential to be used in various applications, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, audio products, and defence.
“This is truly a team effort on both legislative government level as well as, clearly, the Niron team level,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday at an event for the ribbon-cutting of the new facility, where she was joined by company officials and other elected officials. “Scaling up your production capacity, investing in cutting edge new equipment, creating 60 good-paying jobs. And to think you’ve done this in just 10 short years, and I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do in the next 10 years.”
The 70,000-square-foot plant reportedly has the capacity to produce over five tons of magnets annually.
“It’s been a long journey to get to this point, from the early days when there were only about a dozen of us working in a small lab. Being able to progress the technology and scale it up step by step, and now we’re able to see it real, see it actually happen. We’re actually making materials, that’s what I am most excited about,” said Frank Johnson, Niron’s chief technical officer.
Niron’s process for producing a magnet begins with the creation of iron oxide powder. They produce very fine particles of iron oxide that pass through reactors, where the oxygen in the oxide is replaced with nitrogen. This process results in the formation of iron nitride powder, which is magnetic.
“We’re fighting at the national level to make sure Minnesota matters, and Niron is leading the charge,” Minnesota 8th District US Rep. Pete Stauber said. “It does not happen without mining of our iron ore that makes our steel in this country. So this is a byproduct of the steel making.”
Iron nitride has been widely debated in science for decades, said Tom Grainger, Niron’s senior director of business development and investor relations. Research in 2011 at the University of Minnesota by Professor Jian-Ping Wang proved that iron nitride was as high-performance as some posited. This research was funded by the Department of Energy. Niron then developed a process to produce iron nitride.
The manufacturing process for the magnets produces salt, water, and water vapor as byproducts.
“They’re cleaner to produce. They’re cleaner to recycle and they’re cleaner disposal. So it’s a win, win, win,” Minnesota 4th District US Rep Betty McCollum said.
Niron officials stated that the company’s magnets help keep the temperature of products, such as engines or motors, more stable.
Being able to offer magnets made in the US is an attractive prospect for Niron’s customers, explained Niron CEO Jonathan Rowntree.
“The amount of magnets needed will triple over the next 10 years. There’s only enough rare-earths in the ground today from the sites, the plants and mines that are operating to double that, so there’s going to be a very big shortfall in high performance permanent magnets, and that’s where Niron comes in,” Rowntree added.
The company currently has customers including General Motors, Magna Powertrain, Samsung Electronics, Harman Audio, Allison Transmission, Volvo Cars, and Western Digital.
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