Evolution Metals & Technologies receives all 57 containers for Pohang expansion
The magnet maker targets roughly 10,000 tonnes of annual capacity after commissioning and has scheduled a Dec. 17 operational showcase.
Theo Marchetti
Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. NASDAQEMAT, which trades on Nasdaq, said on Wednesday it had received all 57 equipment containers for its Pohang magnet expansion in South Korea. The company expects annual capacity to rise from about 1,000 tonnes to roughly 10,000 tonnes after installation and commissioning, including about 6,000 tonnes of high-performance sintered magnets.
Shares NASDAQEMAT closed at US$1.43 on Nasdaq at 4 p.m. EDT on Oct. 27, according to Google Finance. That close preceded Wednesday's announcement.
The Oct. 28 release schedules commissioning to begin in November, while co-chief executive Frank Moon says in the same announcement that commissioning and assembly have already begun. The expanded capacity remains a target dependent on completing that work.
Evolution also said it signed an investment framework with Pohang City on Oct. 27. It expects approximately US$28 million in local government grant funding, subject to applicable conditions, to support the expansion.
Deliveries Complete The Equipment Shipment
Evolution is a U.S.-based manufacturer of rare earth magnets, battery materials and related products, with existing revenue from commercial magnet sales in South Korea.
The delivery completes a shipment that was still at an early stage in the company's Oct. 15 update. At that point, 13 of the 57 containers had arrived, with the remainder expected before the end of October.
The containers hold equipment for 13 additional magnet-production machines. Their arrival completes the announced delivery schedule, while installation, commissioning and the production ramp remain separate steps.
"We are a producer of magnets and magnet materials. With local government support for our expansion, our priority is bringing the additional equipment into production, maintaining consistent quality at greater scale and converting customer demand into shipments," Moon said in the Oct. 28 release.
Evolution reports customer certifications across eight magnet grades in the latest announcement, compared with seven in the Oct. 15 release. It also says more than 50 per cent of input materials are sourced outside China under contract or on site.
MP Plans Commissioning From 2028
MP Materials Corp. NYSEMP is also expanding magnet manufacturing outside China. In its Feb. 26 announcement, MP said its planned Northlake, Texas, campus would contribute to company-wide capacity of approximately 10,000 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron magnets annually once operational. It scheduled commissioning to begin in 2028.
The capacity figures describe different operations and product mixes: Evolution's Pohang target includes high-performance sintered magnets within a broader magnet total, while MP's figure covers company-wide neodymium-iron-boron capacity.
The manufacturing expansions sit downstream of projects seeking to add rare-earth mineral supply outside China.
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Evolution has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony and operational showcase at Pohang for Dec. 17. The Oct. 28 release does not give a date for reaching the full expanded production capacity.
