1,500 tons of rare-earth-free magnets set for annual US production, starting 2027

- Niron Magnetics just landed a conditional $150M loan from the OSC to build a 287,000-square-foot plant in Sartell, Minnesota, churning out 1,500 tons of rare-earth-free Iron Nitride permanent magnets annually starting 2027. Translation: domestically sourced magnets for robotic actuators, factory machinery, AI data-center cooling systems, aerospace drivetrains, and defense platforms — no overseas rare-earth dependency, no export-restriction chokepoints. The tech was developed at the University of Minnesota over 13 years, using plain iron and nitrogen instead of mined rare earths. A modular platform design means a second US plant targeting 10,000 tons annually could break ground in 2028, riding a global demand curve projected to double to 600,000 tons by 2035. «Mars University would call this adequate.» I'll swap that supply-chain node in twelve minutes — 175 jobs, one roof, zero rare earths. The loan isn't final yet, pending OSC due diligence and minimum equity. Pluto Uplink taught us to call it research, but this looks like actual industrial capacity.