Noveon Magnetics launches rare earth magnet recycling initiative

Noveon Magnetics, a San Marcos, Texas-based manufacturer of magnetic materials, has announced a strategic agreement with Kangwon Energy, a South Korean engineering company, and LG Electronics, a maker of consumer electronics based in South Korea, to advance closed-loop recycling of rare earth permanent magnets.  

As part of the program's initial phase, the companies will utilize Noveon's proprietary Magnet-to-Magnet (M2M) technology on end-of-life magnets recovered from LG products to produce new, high-performance magnets for LG products. 

“This initiative is a major step toward building a more secure and sustainable rare earth supply chain,” says Noveon CEO Scott Dunn. “By partnering with Kangwon Energy to scale our proprietary M2M technology and collaborating with LG Electronics—including its eco-friendly rare earth permanent magnet recycling technology—on joint development and validation efforts, we aim to demonstrate the environmental and performance benefits of closed-loop rare earth magnet recycling.” 

Noveon says the program will expand with additional production capacity at a new facility in South Korea, which is currently under development through its joint venture with Kangwon Energy. Collaborating with LG Electronics on technology development and using LG products for validation ensures real-world performance data, Noveon says, supporting future adoption across multiple industries. 

“At LG Electronics, we design products with their full lifecycle in mind,” says Pilhyun Yoon, LG Electronics VP. “This collaboration allows us to validate recycled rare earth magnets directly within our products and manufacturing processes, proving that circular materials can meet the same performance and quality standards consumers expect. Partnerships like this are critical to turning sustainability into an operational reality.” 

By reclaiming rare earth elements already in circulation, this initiative reduces reliance on traditional mining and mitigates exposure to volatile supply chains, particularly those dominated by China, which currently controls more than 90 percent of global magnet production, according to Noveon.  

The company says magnets produced through the M2M process during the validation phase will be tested in LG Electronics applications from household appliances to consumer electronics to confirm strength, quality and sustainability.