Credit: Niron Magnetics
UMN startup company Niron Magnetics makes environmentally friendly and sustainable rare earth-free permanent magnets for use in EVs, wind turbines, cellphones, and other high-performance electronics. Today magnets are made from rare earth elements, which are costly and environmentally damaging to extract, and are primarily sourced from China. Niron has attracted significant public and private investment to develop its Clean Earth Magnet® technology, invented by UMN electrical and computer engineering professor Jian-Ping Wang. Niron, which was named one of America’s Top GreenTech Companies of 2024 by Time and Statista, opened a pilot plant in Northeast Minneapolis in October 2024 and plans to break ground on a full-scale facility near St. Cloud, MN in 2025 slated to employ 175 Minnesotans.