Input Stories

U.S. demand for high-powered permanent magnets is set to “at least double by 2040”—but current U.S. output would only fulfill about 10% of that demand, underscoring the need for the country “to build a secure, resilient and diversified magnet supply chain,” Niron Magnetics CEO Jonathan Rowntree told Congress this week.
 
What’s going on: U.S. import dependency on foreign countries for rare earth elements to manufacture most permanent magnets “touches virtually every congressional district, as robots, smartphones, medical devices and advanced weapons systems cannot function without these materials,” Rowntree told the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party at a Wednesday hearing on predatory mineral pricing by Beijing.

• China’s decades-long stranglehold on rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing (the country controls about 90% of global capacity) was largely responsible for the decline of the American magnet production industry, which has only recently begun to recover, Rowntree said.
• To meet exploding and likely future demand for the magnets—used in everything from scientific and medical devices to door locks, transformers and generators—the U.S. will need to rely on iron nitride magnets “manufactured with secure, domestically abundant resources: iron ion and nitrogen,” the CEO continued.

Why it would help: “[I]ron nitride technology transforms the magnet supply chain by enabling the manufacturer of permanent magnets from iron and nitrogen, reducing the need for rare earth mining, chemical separation facilities and complex metallurgical processing,” Rowntree told the committee.

• “A single, vertically integrated facility transforms commodity iron ore and atmospheric nitrogen into finished magnets. This entire pipeline exists today within America’s borders.”

What’s needed: To keep the U.S. secure and competitive, “Congress and the administration [should] consider five concrete actions” regarding magnets:

• Establish federal procurement preferences for domestically manufactured magnets.
• Extend Title III of the Defense Production Act and similar authorities to alternative magnet technologies in addition to rare earth processing undertakings.
• Create tax incentives to level the playing field for domestic producers.
• Have federal agencies prioritize supply chain security over short-term cost savings.
• Give import tariff exemptions for manufacturing equipment from allied trading partners.

All of the above: “We recognize that we are only one among many alternative solutions, including post-consumer recycling and tailings,” Rowntree concluded. “As a matter of national security, every option should be explored and supported as the U.S. builds a more resilient domestic supply chain.”