(Bloomberg) —
Rare-earths startup Vulcan Elements announced it will use $1 billion of government funding and private capital to build a production facility in its home state of North Carolina, the latest step in a US push to break free of China’s grip over the industry.
Once complete, the new million-square-foot production facility will be the largest magnet factory in the world outside of China, according to a statement today from the office of North Carolina Governor Josh Stein.
The expansion is part of a Trump administration bid to challenge China’s dominance of the supply chain of the magnets, used in robotics, electric vehicles and semiconductor production. China currently produces 94% of the global supply.
Vulcan Elements is a two-year-old manufacturing company based in North Carolina that seeks to become a large domestic producer of rare-earth magnets. The expansion is projected to bring 1,000 jobs to Benson, North Carolina, Vulcan CEO John Maslin said in an interview. Hiring will begin immediately.
The company received a $620 million direct loan from the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital and $550 million in private funding to build the 10,000-metric-ton-producing facility. A ton is roughly 1,000 kilograms or 2,204 pounds.
The company plans to produce “several thousands tonnes” by 2027, Maslin said, and eventually plans to scale up commercial production capacity to 10,000 metric tons.
For now, that is an aspirational goal. The new facility represents a massive effort to scale up Vulcan’s production as it seeks to move beyond its current 10 metric tons producing facility about an hour’s drive north in Durham, North Carolina.
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