Niron Magnetics' conditional $150 million U.S. loan has emerged as a strategically important part of a more than $3 billion domestic critical minerals package announced by President Donald Trump, because the company's iron nitride magnets aim to remove rare earths from part of the defense supply chain rather than merely diversify supply. The Minneapolis startup's Clean Earth Magnet uses iron and atmospheric nitrogen instead of materials such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium, an approach that could reduce exposure to Chinese dominance in rare earth processing and magnet manufacturing if it can be scaled commercially. The conditional financing from the Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital would help fund Niron's 287,000-square-foot Sartell, Minnesota plant, which the company targets to reach full operational capacity in early 2027. The facility is designed to produce about 1,500 metric tons of iron nitride permanent magnets annually and create 175 full-time jobs. The technology traces back to University of Minnesota research supported by the Department of Energy's ARPA-E REACT program beginning in 2011, followed by additional ARPA-E SCALEUP funding of $17.5 million. The push comes as China maintains an April 2025 licensing regime on seven rare earth elements and a broader suspension of expanded October 2025 export controls is due to expire on November 10, 2026. Niron's magnets are based on the α″-Fe₁₆N₂ crystal structure, which in theory can deliver high magnetic performance, but the material decomposes above about 250°C and is best suited to applications below 200°C. That makes it relevant for some actuators, motors, robotics, electronics and guided munitions components, though not necessarily for the hottest operating environments. Niron announced a partnership with Moog Inc. in December 2025 to develop rare-earth-free actuators for guided munitions systems, while GM Ventures and Stellantis Ventures committed $33 million in 2023 to support commercialization. The rest of the federal package focused mainly on building domestic supply chains within the conventional critical minerals system, including a $1.4 billion conditional loan to Sila Nanotechnologies for silicon-carbon anode production, a $400 million conditional loan to Sunrise Energy Metals for scandium, and smaller loans for graphite, tantalum, niobium and boron projects. Officials and analysts have warned that new mines and processing capacity take years to develop, leaving rare-earth-free technologies such as iron nitride potentially important if they can bridge the gap between laboratory promise and commercial production.