Minnesota magnet maker gets $150 million federal loan

A Minnesota-based magnet maker is set to receive a $150 million federal loan through the Department of Defense.

The loan will help Niron Magnetics accelerate opening a facility north of St. Cloud in Sartell, where it will make magnets for use in cell phones, electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense weapons. And it will do so without the use of rare-earth materials.

“The goal here is to bring that facility fully on board over the course of the next year for the first phase coming on board in 2027 and the full plant by 2028,” said Mark Schramek, vice president of government affairs for Niron Magnetics. “We have secured a large portion of the funding for the full project, and this will allow us to basically move this forward to a full completion.”

Schramek said the Sartell plant, where they broke ground last year, is expected to bring in nearly 200 high-quality, full-time jobs to the area. That’s comparable to the number of employees currently at its Minneapolis-based facility.

Niron Magnetics manufactures magnets through a process that combines iron and nitrogen, which the state has an abundance of, into iron nitride. The magnetic powder is then formed into different shapes and sizes based on what it will be used for.

The method, which was developed at the University of Minnesota over a decade ago, cuts out the dependence on foreign-mined rare-earth elements needed to make traditional magnets. And it lowers environmental impacts.

According to Niron, their magnets are more powerful than ones containing rare-earth elements.

With demand for magnets increasingly spurred on by data center cooling pumps, robotics and electric vehicles, among other factors, Niron is planning to expand its operations in the near future. And some politicians want to see it happen in Minnesota.

“We actually are currently undergoing a nationwide site selection on where we are going to build our next 10,000-ton, high-volume manufacturing plant,” Schramek said. “That process is ongoing today, with a goal that we will actually select a site for that by fall of this year.”

When operational, the Sartell plant will produce 1,500 tons of rare-earth free permanent magnets annually. By comparison, the Minneapolis facility has a production capacity of over 5 tons a year.