GM and Stellantis invest in Niron Magnetics
GM Motors announced the investment in Niron Magnetics as part of its “goal to establish a more secure, sustainable, North American-focused EV supply chain.” Reuters reports that GM Ventures has invested seven million and Stellantis Ventures five million US dollars in Niron Magnetics.
Other financial backers, such as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) and the University of Minnesota (UMN), have also participated in this round. Niron Magnetics says the Volvo Cars Tech Fund was also part of an earlier financing round.
Niron Magnetics intends to use the capital to drive forward the commercialization of its iron nitride-based “clean earth” magnets. Niron Magnetics says it has developed the world’s first permanent magnet with automotive-grade power. This technology works entirely free from critical materials, including rare or heavy rare earth minerals.
“We believe Niron’s unique technology can play a key role in reducing rare earth minerals from EV motors and help us further scale our North American-based supply chain for EVs,” said Anirvan Coomer, president of GM Ventures. “Our path to an all-electric future will be enabled not only by our own research and development efforts but also by investing in next-generation technology from startups and established companies outside our four walls.”
The company intends to use the funding to increase the production capacity of its pilot production, procure new equipment and hire more staff. This will enable Niron to serve its customers’ prototyping programs and “support small product series for important entry-level markets.”
“GM invented rare earth permanent magnets nearly 40 years ago, and now we’re working together to bring the next generation of automotive magnet technology to market,” said Jonathan Rowntree, CEO of Niron Magnetics. “We think that our Clean Earth Magnets can help GM in its goal to put everyone in an EV.”
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