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Last Friday, Neo Performance Materials officially opened Europe’s first mass-scale production facility for rare earth magnets in Narva, making global headlines. This factory was built by Maru.

It was designed by Norte, the general contracting was handled by Maru Ehitus, steel structures were produced by Maru Metall, assembly was provided by Maru THM, and concrete works by carried out by Maru Betoonitööd. The factory was built in just 500 days, a feat that – according to NPM executives – takes four to five times as long in the USA. NPM has published a video that describes the process and emphasises the factory was built “on time, on budget and on spec”.

The news of NPM’s 75-million euro investment making its grand opening made headlines in FT, NYT, and other global outlets, hailing this as a much-waited step to curb China’s monopoly in producing rare earth magnets.

The grand opening ceremony was attended by more than 270 guests, including senior leadership from the global automotive, renewable energy, and technology sectors, alongside government officials, media, and investors from across Europe, North America, Australia, and Japan.

Dignitaries celebrating

Kristen Michal, Prime Minister of Estonia and Raffaele Fitto, the EU Commission’s Executive Vice-President, spoke on the importance of critical minerals and rare earths to Europe.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who reported the opening on her LI page, had already spoken about this as a spectacular achievement back in June when she addressed the G7 Summit in Canada. “I brought with me a permanent magnet. Not just any magnet—this is a rare earth permanent magnet.  It was manufactured in Estonia, by a Canadian company using raw materials sourced from Australia, and supported by the EU’s Just Transition Fund… And where does it end up? In German and French electric vehicles and wind turbines. This small object tells a much bigger story—a story we are writing together,” von der Leyen told G7.

First of its kind in Europe

NPM’s factory is Europe’s first production plant for rare-earth magnets. As NPM puts it it, these are the „first Made-in-Europe magnets to meet the specifications of Tier 1 traction motor manufacturers and major automotive original equipment manufacturers.“ Indeed, initial contracts with German auto suppliers Schaeffler and Bosch have already been signed, with more prominent clients reportedly in the pipeline.

Moreover, according to NPM’s President & CEO, Rahim Suleman, this is just the beginning. „Customers are chasing us,” Suleman told FT, predicting a three-fold increase in demand over the next decade. Already before the factory had opened its doors, the company and the media reported the anticipated output increase from 2000t to 5000t, with another 300–400 new employees getting hired over the next 18 months.

World’s best brains

The magnet factory now employs nearly 100 people, among them engineers and scientists from Estonia, Slovenia, Brazil, Spain, and Egypt. Vasileios Tsianos, NPM’s Vice President of Development, told Äripäev that these people are renowned PhDs in magnet science who previously had to stick to academic research, as they had no industrial facility in any Western country where they could apply their skills. “These are people who choose to move to Estonia, raise families here, and build something bigger than what we started with in Narva,“ he said.

High-tech production facilities are Maru Group’s special strength. Just a few days earlier, Elcogen’s solid oxide technology facility was officially powered on, also designed and built by Maru Ehitus and other Margu group companies. This facility made Elcogen one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of high-efficiency Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and Electrolysis (SOEC) technology.

Video: NPM