China-born scientist Jian-Ping Wang forged a rare-earth-free magnet. Will it help the West?

While working in his lab at the University of Minnesota more than a decade ago, materials scientist Jian-Ping Wang achieved a world first.

Born and educated in China, Wang spent decades studying magnetism, first earning his PhD at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, then pioneering research in Singapore before joining academia in the United States.

His quest was to create a powerful magnet without rare earth elements. The result was the world’s first iron nitride magnet, a revolutionary technology forged from iron and nitrogen.

Now, as US-China tensions escalate over rare earth exports – a sector China dominates with 92 per cent of global refining – Wang’s invention is gaining urgent attention. His spin-off company, Niron Magnetics, is racing to commercialise these magnets, offering Western technology and automotive giants an alternative to China’s stranglehold on supply.

The stakes could not be higher. Rare earth magnets power everything from EV motors to wind turbines and MRI machines.