German Firm, GM To Build Magnet Factory In U.S.

Vacuumschmelze (VAC) and General Motors (GM) have announced plans for VAC to build a plant in the US that will manufacture permanent magnets for the electric motors used in GM’s electric vehicles using Ultium-Platform.

Photo Insert: GM’s 180-kW, permanent magnet EV motor will be used for front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive applications.

The new plant would plan to use locally sourced raw materials, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) reported.

“We are building a resilient and sustainable EV manufacturing value chain in North America from raw materials to components to drive GM’s growth and support a mass market for EVs,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

"Our work with VAC is another bold step forward that will help ensure that we meet our goal to lead the EV industry in North America in more than just sales.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with GM on this journey into an increasingly electrified world, leveraging sustainable clean energy solutions. As VAC is the only industrial-scale producer of rare earth permanent magnets in the Western Hemisphere, VAC brings reliable scale and experience to GM’s supply chain. VAC’s deep magnetic materials knowledge and extensive e-mobility technology expertise, in partnership with GM, will enable a cleaner global future for our communities,” said Dr. Erik Eschen, CEO of VAC.

The plant is expected to start production in 2024 and create hundreds of new jobs. The location of the facility will be announced at a later date. The finished magnets will be delivered to facilities building EV motors for GM’s Ultium-powered EVs.

A non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been completed. VAC and GM expect to finalize definitive agreements in early 2022.

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