Magnetics Company Scales Up Greener Options

Minnesota-based Niron Magnetics has opened a commercial pilot plant to develop “Clean Earth Magnets” that are developed from iron and nitrogen. The company says the magnets have the potential to be used in electric vehicles, wind turbines, audio products, and defense applications. 

Niron officials say the company’s magnets are produced in the U.S. through a process that is the only one of its kind in the world as most magnets that are manufactured in China from rare-earth materials.

The 70,000 square-foot plant in Northeast Minneapolis has the capacity to manufacture more than five tons of magnets per year. Niron announced it had selected Sartell, near St. Cloud, for a larger manufacturing plant that will produce 1,500 tons of magnets per year.

Niron’s process of producing a magnet starts with creating iron oxide powder that is run through reactors that replace oxygen with nitrogen. This then creates iron nitride powder, which is magnetic. The byproducts of manufacturing the magnets are salt, water and water vapor. Niron officials said the company’s magnets also allow the temperature of the products they are in, such as engines or motors, to remain more stable.