Department of Defense enters agreement to expand domestic manufacturing to strengthen U.S. supply chains for rare earth magnets

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, issued an award to E-VAC Magnetics, LLC (E-VAC) to establish a domestic rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing capability.  E-VAC is  part of VAC Group, a manufacturer of rare earth permanent magnets.

The agreement will provide $94.1 million to E-VAC to acquire and install manufacturing equipment, operationalize technical infrastructure, and engineer production lines. E-VAC will perform this work to establish high volume rare earth permanent magnet production by 2025.

Rare earth permanent magnets are essential components in the F-35, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and numerous other defense systems. These national security related uses, represent a small part of the US commercial need for rare earth element magnets.  As a result, MCEIP is dedicated to using its resources to help stimulate private capital as evidenced by the E-VAC investment.

"We're building on previous DoD awards, that augment or complement other Agency investments for rare earth minerals to help establish an integrated, domestic rare earth supply chain from mine to magnet," said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. "IBP is reinforcing the Administration's goal to build a rare earth industrial base fully capable of meeting our national defense requirements."