This U.S. company’s new magnet could loosen China’s stranglehold on the supply chain

High-power magnets undergird an enormous amount of modern society. From high-end audio speakers to electric vehicles, wind turbines, and fighter jets, they are a vital component in much of the technology we touch every day. To make them requires mining and refining rare earth elements—a supply chain largely controlled by China.

Companies around the world are racing to find alternatives by using materials that are more abundant and cheaper to produce domestically. Minneapolis-based Niron Magnetics believes it has found a solution, claiming it can approach key aspects of rare earth magnet performance, using humble iron and nitrogen—albeit in an exotic formulation. General Motors, Stellantis, the U.S. government, and others are betting on it.

“The Chinese put export controls in place around