Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets
Rare-earth magnets matter for compact, efficient motors, but an electric vehicle can be built without them. BMW's production motor uses electrical excitation in place of rare-earth permanent magnets. Whether that swap makes sense depends on cost, efficiency and packaging across the whole system, so it has to be judged case by case.
Research snapshot · updated Nov 12, 2026
Core thesis
Every EV motor and direct-drive wind turbine uses NdFeB magnets. No substitute matches the magnetic energy density. Chinese manufacturers hold the IP and processing know-how. Jian-Ping Wang (University of Minnesota, Niron Magnetics) is pioneering iron nitride as a rare earth-free alternative — potentially game-changing if performance parity is achieved.
State of the art (2026)
The defining shift of 2026 is that Western NdFeB capacity has stopped being a slide and started being a plant. MP Materials began magnet production at its Independence facility in Fort Worth in December 2025 and is ramping output for General Motors through 2026, with a second Northlake plant breaking ground toward roughly 10,000 tonnes a year. e-VAC Magnetics has completed its South Carolina plant (around 2,000 tonnes a year, the bulk earmarked for GM). Niron Magnetics is building a 1,500-tonne iron-nitride line in Sartell for early-2027 operation. Against this, China still makes the overwhelming majority of finished magnets, and its April 2025 controls on dysprosium and terbium remain enforced – May 2026 Chinese magnet exports fell about 35% month-on-month.
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Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
7 signals
Signal stack
Evidence stacked leading → lagging
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
4 tracked
Technology-native KPIs
Metrics that predict trajectory, tracked over time
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
134 players · 6 layers
Landscape map
Who builds what, and who depends on whom
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
5 ahead
Catalyst calendar
Dated events that will move the position
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
8 milestones
Technology roadmap
Milestones on the path to maturity
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
20 · 20
Watchlists
Companies, people and papers, each with a condition for removing it
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Locked
Decision frameworks
What our view means for your job
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
7 updates
Thesis changelog
When our view changed, and why
Change our mind
3 disconfirming conditions
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The full signal stack, technology-native KPIs tracked over time, the landscape of who depends on whom, the dated catalyst calendar, decision frameworks for every desk, live watchlists and a record of every time our view on Neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets has changed. All of it is in CanaryIQ.