
Fort Worth manufacturer begins producing rare earth magnets
A Fort Worth plant that is part of a $700 million effort to restore the U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain to power laptops, tablets, smartphones, wind turbines and electric vehicles has officially started commercial production. MP Materials announced Jan. 22 its Fort Worth facility has started commercial production of metal and trial production of automotive grade magnets. “This milestone marks a major step forward in restoring a fully integrated rare earth magnet supply chain in the United States,” said James Litinsky, founder and CEO of MP Materials, in a news release.When MP Materials broke ground on April 13, 2022, on a 200,000-square-foot magnet manufacturing facility, dubbed Independence in AllianceTexas, it was more than just a win in the economic development column for Fort Worth. MP Materials magnets are essential components in vehicles, drones, robotics, electronics and aerospace and defense systems, yet the U.S. has relied almost entirely on foreign sources for these critical inputs for decades. At the moment, China accounts for 92% of the world’s magnet production and 58% of rare earth mining, according to a report by the U.S. Department of Energy. MP Materials’ Fort Worth plant is estimated to produce approximately 1,000 metric tons of finished magnets per year, with a gradual production ramp beginning late this year. That 1,000 metric tons of magnets per year is just 1% of the world’s production, but still enough to power half a million EV motors, according to company officials. The facility will supply magnets to General Motors and other manufacturers, sourcing its raw materials from Mountain Pass, MP Materials’ mine and processing facility in California.In 2024, MP Materials achieved record-breaking production at Mountain Pass, delivering more than 45,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides contained in concentrate — an all-time high for U.S. primary production, according to the company. The market for rare earth magnets is expected to grow from $34.4 billion in 2021 to $54.1 billion by 2026, driven largely by increased production of EVs, as the world looks to reduce dependency on fossil fuels and rely more on electric power.The MP Materials production is only part of the area’s involvement in the revitalization of the country’s magnet supply chain. The University of Texas at Arlington has been awarded a $1.3 million grant to develop a more efficient process for sourcing rare earth elements needed to produce high-performance magnets. UTA physicist J. Ping Liu is leading the project that aims to make the mining of these critical materials more cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable by using cheaper, more abundant materials.The initiative also addresses a critical national need: boosting domestic magnet production to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.“As consumer demand pushes us to make these items smaller, lighter and more powerful, manufacturers are struggling to obtain cost-effective raw materials necessary to make them,” said Liu in a statement. “We are working on scaling up more effective magnets that use fewer critical rare metals.”The grant is part of a $17 million investment from the Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Collaborative. Established in 2023, the program is designed to accelerate the development of U.S. supply chains for critical materials while minimizing the environmental impact of mining rare earth elements essential for advanced technology.Liu and his team of faculty and students will collaborate with researchers from Ames National Laboratory in Iowa, a top research institution in materials science and engineering, especially in rare earth materials, and MP Materials. The team plans to source rare earth elements from MP Materials’ Mountain Pass mine. These materials will be processed at the company’s Fort Worth facility.“Upon successful completion of the project, we plan to have a working pilot project that can be scaled for manufacturing and mass production,” Liu said. “Our new designs will create valuable, environmentally friendly manufacturing jobs while helping reduce our reliance on international suppliers for materials critical to high-tech devices.”Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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