MP Materials nears full production, set to deliver magnets to GM in Q4 2026

MP Materials’ Fort Worth, Texas facility is producing prototype NdFeB permanent magnets for General Motors, with commercial shipments slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. The numbers behind the magnets MP Materials’ Independence plant in Fort Worth is targeting annual production capacity of 3,000 tonnes of NdFeB magnets. GM has locked in a contract for roughly 1,000 tonnes per year, enough to supply magnets for its Ultium Platform EV motors. Each large Ultium motor requires 192 magnets, while smaller motors use 128. The supply agreement underpinning all of this dates back to 2021-2022. MP’s Mountain Pass mine in California, the only operational rare earth mine in the US, logged 840 metric tons of NdPr oxide production in Q2 2026, a 41% increase compared to the same quarter last year. NdPr oxide is the critical precursor for the neodymium-iron-boron magnets that make EV motors spin. Without it, you’re importing from China, which controls an estimated 60-70% of global rare earth mining and roughly 90% of processing capacity. Scaling up with Pentagon backing A larger second magnet factory in Northlake, Texas, is already under construction with financial backing from the US D...