India remains heavily dependent on imports across the rare-earth magnet value chain despite the growing demand for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and advanced electronics. Rare-earth permanent magnets are therefore central to industrial resilience, technological sovereignty and long-term economic security. Developing domestic capabilities has been identified as vital to reduce strategic vulnerability and support local manufacturing.

LOHUM, a diversified producer of sustainable critical minerals and advanced materials, and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (CSIR-IMMT) have signed a memorandum of understanding to advance indigenous technology capabilities. The collaboration targets production of critical rare-earth materials used in high-performance permanent magnets. The announcement underlines a public–private approach to bridging research and industrial application within India.

Work will focus on developing and validating processes for the production of metallised neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr), one of the core materials required for high-performance magnets. The jointly developed technology aims to provide a safer alternative to the commonly used metal removal by ladle process of molten salt electrolysis. Emphasis will be placed on process safety and scalable methods that can be integrated into existing manufacturing workflows.

LOHUM and the institute will combine scientific research, process development expertise and industrial execution capabilities to translate laboratory results into commercial processes. The collaboration is expected to involve joint validation, pilot studies and knowledge transfer to accelerate technology readiness within the country. Stakeholders noted that aligning academic research with industrial needs is fundamental to building a resilient value chain.

LOHUM founder and chief executive Rajat Verma said that India’s rare-earth magnet ambitions cannot be realised through manufacturing capacity alone and require indigenous control over critical technologies and materials across the value chain. The statement described the partnership with CSIR-IMMT as a strategic step towards building that capability within India. The memorandum positions the partners to contribute to a domestic supply of materials crucial for sectors from defence to renewable energy.