India’s First Rare Earth Magnet Plant To Be Set Up In Greater Noida

Lucknow, May 12 (KNN) In a major push to reduce India’s dependence on China for critical raw materials, the country’s first rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing plant will be set up in Greater Noida.

India’s First Domestic Rare Earth Magnet Plant 

LOHUM, India’s largest producer of sustainable critical minerals & advanced materials, will establish the pilot facility at its factory in Site 5, Greater Noida.

It marks a significant step toward domestic production of rare earth magnets used in products ranging from televisions, mobile phones, watches and electric vehicles to wind turbines and defence equipment.

Currently, India neither manufactures rare earth permanent magnets domestically nor recovers them through recycling, resulting in nearly 80-90 percent of the country’s requirement being imported from China.

Rs 700 Crore Investment Backed By Government Support 

The project has received approval from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and will involve an investment of Rs 700 crore. 

The plant will have an annual production capacity of 5,000 tonnes and will manufacture NdFeB magnets, made from Neodymium, Iron and Boron, which are considered among the strongest permanent magnets globally.

Under the government’s Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS), the project will receive a 25 percent subsidy.

Rajat Verma, founder, LOHUM said the initiative aligns with the government’s broader objective of reducing dependence on foreign suppliers, particularly China, for critical inputs used in electronics, defence equipment and EV manufacturing.

He said four rare earth elements, Neodymium, Praseodymium, Dysprosium and Terbium, are essential for producing these magnets. 

While India has access to Neodymium and Praseodymium, it currently faces shortages of Dysprosium and Terbium, which are required for producing compact, heat-resistant high-performance magnets.

Recycling Push To Recover Critical Minerals 

To address this gap, the government is increasing mineral exploration efforts in northeastern states while also focusing on recycling initiatives.

As part of this strategy, LOHUM plans to recover Dysprosium and Terbium from discarded mobile phones, laptops, drones and other electronic waste sourced from scrap dealers and e-waste recycling firms. 

According to industry estimates, nearly one kilogram of these rare earth elements can be extracted from around 100 kilograms of magnet scrap.

(KNN Bureau)