Honda Motor has invested in Niron Magnetics, a US company commercializing rare-earth-free Iron Nitride permanent magnets.

Announced on September 9, the investment will support the continued commercialization of Niron’s technology and help scale its manufacturing operations.

The move reflects Honda’s interest in next-generation magnetic materials that could reduce reliance on rare-earth elements in electrified systems.

Reducing reliance on rare-earth materials

Permanent magnets are used in electric propulsion motors and several other technologies. However, many conventional high-performance magnets depend on rare-earth metals that face resource constraints and changing market conditions.

Niron’s Iron Nitride technology offers an alternative that does not require rare-earth materials. It is intended to support performance, cost stability, and sustainability goals while reducing reliance on constrained global supply chains.

“This investment reflects the increasing focus on rare-earth-free magnet technology as manufacturers look for more resilient solutions,” said Jonathan Rowntree, CEO of Niron Magnetics.

“Following investment from Honda, we are encouraged by their confidence in our technology and vision for scaling rare-earth-free permanent magnets across a broad range of applications. The investment adds to growing industry momentum as manufacturers increasingly direct resources to alternatives to rare-earth-based magnets,” he added.

The technology can be used across automotive systems, robotics, industrial automation and emerging mobility platforms. Other potential applications include artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure, as well as consumer electronics.

Honda sees potential for electric propulsion

Most electric propulsion motors currently use permanent magnets made from rare-earth metals. Honda expects Niron’s technology to help address some of the supply and market challenges associated with these materials.

“Niron Magnetics has an innovative permanent magnet technology that does not require rare earth materials. Most electric propulsion motors today use permanent magnets made from rare earth metals, which are subject to resource constraints and fluctuations in market conditions,” said Mahito Shikama, Director, Executive Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

“Niron Magnetics is addressing these challenges, and Honda has high hopes for its potential,” he added.

The investment further supports Niron’s effort to establish Iron Nitride as a new category of permanent magnetic material. It will also help the company expand the technology’s adoption across a growing range of products and applications.

Honda’s backing adds to the resources being directed toward alternatives to rare-earth-based permanent magnets. For Niron, it supports the transition from commercializing its technology to producing the magnets at a larger scale.

US facility to scale magnet production

Niron recently announced a new 287,000-square-foot facility in Sartell, Minnesota, for magnet manufacturing. The plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2027.

Once operational, the facility is expected to produce up to 1,500 tons of rare-earth-free Iron Nitride permanent magnets annually. This output will serve the company’s targeted automotive, industrial and advanced technology applications.

The facility forms a central part of Niron’s manufacturing expansion. Honda’s investment will support the company as it works to scale production and broaden the use of Iron Nitride magnets across electrified systems.

Norwegian defense company KONGSBERG has selected Echodyne’s MESA radar platform for multiple air and surface applications, starting with its PROTECTOR remote weapon stations. The compact radar has already been integrated into the PROTECTOR RS4 and RS6 systems.

The collaboration brings together KONGSBERG’s weapon-station architecture and Collaborative Fire Control capabilities with Echodyne’s solid-state radar. It is designed for static, crewed, and uncrewed platforms. 

The system helps them detect, track, and engage fast-moving drones. It also requires less space, weight, and power than traditional high-performance electronically scanned array radars.

Compact radar strengthens weapon stations

The integration provides the PROTECTOR systems with the precise radar data required to operate as counter-unmanned aircraft system effectors. MESA delivers range, range-rate, bearing, and movement data while maintaining stable tracks on agile targets with low radar signatures.

This data allows the radar to direct and stabilize the weapon station’s optical fire-control system on a target.  According to Echodyne, the combination can help the system sustain its target lock, reduce the time between detection and engagement, and increase its chances of hitting a drone.

“KONGSBERG has set the standard for remote weapon systems through decades of field experience, disciplined engineering and close collaboration with operators,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. 

“Integrating MESA radar gives the PROTECTOR family the precise, stable and persistent tracks needed to cue the fire-control system, sustain target lock and act decisively against fast-moving, low-signature drone threats,” he added. 

“Just as important, MESA delivers that performance in a compact, software-defined package that can scale across a large installed base and adapt as the threat evolves,” he continued.

Radar supports precise airburst timing

Accurate radar measurements become particularly important when PROTECTOR weapon stations use programmable airburst ammunition. Range and range-rate information helps the fire-control system time the munition so that its effect occurs at the intended point along a drone’s flight path.

MESA can also operate as part of a wider network of sensors and weapon systems. A cooperative search radar or another sensor can initially detect a threat and send its track to a radar-equipped PROTECTOR station. The local radar can then refine the incoming information, maintain the track and provide the data needed for fire control. 

This process enables distributed systems to share an air picture, allocate targets and rapidly switch their attention as individual threats are addressed.

Companies explore wider radar applications

Echodyne and KONGSBERG spent several years integrating, testing and demonstrating the radar-enabled system in field conditions. The work reflects KONGSBERG’s approach of validating new capabilities through practical testing before broader deployment.

Beyond the RS4 and RS6 integrations, the companies are examining how high-performance radar could support other air and surface missions across KONGSBERG’s portfolio. Their continued technical work will focus on resilient sensing, networked fire control and protection that can scale as threats evolve.

Both companies are exhibiting at the International Defense Industry Exhibition in Kielce, Poland, from September 8 to 11, 2026.

Fusion power company Thea Energy has detailed a fusion power plant designed to continuously supply approximately 400 megawatts of electricity to the grid.

The New Jersey-based company unveiled the Helios architecture on September 9 through a collection of 16 peer-reviewed papers published in a special issue of Fusion Engineering and Design.

The proposed US stellarator combines adaptable software-controlled magnets, a continuous exhaust system and a sector-based maintenance approach.

Together, these technologies are intended to make fusion power reliable, cost-competitive and suitable for commercial operation.

Planar coils simplify stellarator engineering

Stellarators use magnetic fields to confine the extremely hot plasma required for fusion.

Although decades of research have established the concept as a mature fusion system, the complicated three-dimensional coils traditionally used by stellarators have created major engineering challenges.

Helios replaces those complex modular coils with an arrangement of planar magnets controlled through software. This configuration is designed to remain operational despite manufacturing deviations and wear that develops during extended operation.

“The Helios power plant is technically viable, robust, and requires no scientific miracles to commercialize,” said David Gates, co-founder and chief technology officer of Thea Energy.

According to the company, the quasi-axisymmetric design also allows Helios to be more compact than other proposed optimized stellarator power plants.

The system has a major radius of eight meters, helping reduce both its physical footprint and projected cost.

Continuous system targets reliable grid power

Unlike fusion concepts that operate in pulses, Helios is designed to run continuously. The company says the plant could provide roughly 400 MW of electrical power without the risk of plasma disruptions, supporting its intended role as a source of baseload energy.

Its architecture includes an X-point divertor, which continuously removes exhaust from the stellarator during fusion operations. The design also divides the plant into maintainable sectors, allowing equipment to be accessed and serviced over its operating life.

“The papers introduce several innovative concepts aimed at reducing risks that have traditionally been associated with stellarator-based fusion power plant designs,” said Benedikt Geiger, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and co-guest editor of the special issue.

The published research covers several systems needed to turn the fusion concept into an operational power plant.

These include remote handling, cryogenics, heat transfer, power supplies, diagnostics, instrumentation, and planar-coil magnet engineering.

Helios follows DOE-certified milestone

The US Department of Energy previously certified Helios’ preconceptual design during the first phase of its Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program.

Thea Energy became the first participating company to receive certification for its plant-design milestone following an independent expert review.

Before operating Helios, the company plans to develop Eos, its first large-scale integrated stellarator. Eos uses the same planar-coil architecture and is intended to demonstrate fusion performance relevant to a commercial power plant.

Thea Energy says Helios remains on track to begin operating in the 2030s.

The newly published papers now provide the wider fusion community with a detailed, multidisciplinary account of the physics and engineering behind that commercial objective.