Evolution Metals signs supply deal for non-China NdPr metal used in EV motor magnets

Evolution Metals & Technologies (EM&T) has executed an agreement with Senri Trading to purchase neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal from SRE Vietnam, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese trading company Tokai Trading. EM&T says the material comes entirely from a non-China source. NdPr metal is used to make the permanent magnets that go into EV motors, wind turbines, robotics, defense and aerospace applications.

EM&T says the metal will feed an increase in output to approximately 10,000 metric tons of rare earth magnets per year in 2026. NdPr oxide has to be reduced to metal before it can be alloyed and cast into magnet feedstock, so buying the finished metal lets EM&T feed its existing production lines directly.

Tokai has traded rare earths and rare metals since 1981, and began investing in SRE, its wholly owned Vietnamese subsidiary, in 2008. In January 2025, SRE began tripling its processing capacity for mid-stream rare earth materials to 3,929 metric tons per year.

From January 1, 2027, US defense contractors will be barred from using Chinese-origin rare earth magnets in qualifying weapons systems, EM&T says. The company says the Senri contract brings it another step closer to running its magnet production at full rate.

EM&T operates in Korea and plans to build additional capacity in the US. The company is a mid- and downstream manufacturer of rare earth magnets and battery materials, and says it does not intend to enter the mining business.

“For years, Evolution has manufactured rare earth magnets on a commercial, revenue-generating scale,” said David Wilcox, Executive Chairman of Evolution Metals & Technologies. “Securing additional ex-China rare earth materials in a format Evolution can use in its production lines is another important step.”

Source: Evolution Metals & Technologies