Can Iron-Based Magnets Finally Challenge Rare Earth Dominance?

Highlights

• Japanese and Indonesian researchers used high-throughput computational screening to identify three promising rare-earth-free magnet candidates: Fe2NiZn, AlFe2Ni, and Co2MnSb, with Fe2NiZn showing the strongest potential as an alternative to NdFeB magnets.
• The discovery addresses critical supply chain vulnerabilities in permanent magnets used across EVs, robotics, wind turbines, and AI infrastructure, where China currently dominates rare earth separation and manufacturing capacity.
• Despite theoretical promise, experts caution that computational discoveries face significant hurdles, including synthesis challenges, scaling issues, and commercial validation, before disrupting the permanent magnet supply chain.

A newly published 2026 study in the Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials may represent another important step in the global race to reduce dependence on rare-earth permanent magnets. Researchers from Japan and Indonesia used high-throughput computational screening to explore hundreds of Fe- and Co-based ternary compounds searching for rare-earth-free alternatives capable of competing with NdFeB magnets in future industrial applications.

The paper identified three especially promising candidates: Fe2NiZn, AlFe2Ni, and Co2MnSb. Among them, Fe2NiZn emerged as the standout material, demonstrating strong magnetic polarization, meaningful magnetocrystalline anisotropy, and thermodynamic stability against competing crystal structures. The study suggests the compound could become an immediate target for experimental synthesis. Researchers argue the material may help bridge part of the performance gap between low-cost ferrites and high-performance rare-earth magnets.

The broader implications are significant. Rare earth magnets remain foundational to electric vehicles, robotics, drones, wind turbines, AI infrastructure, and defense systems. Yet China still dominates most global rare earth separation and magnet manufacturing capacity.

Still, investors and policymakers should remain cautious. Computational discovery is only the beginning. Many theoretically promising rare-earth-free magnets fail during real-world synthesis, scaling, oxidation testing, manufacturability, or commercial validation. The permanent magnet supply chain remains one of the hardest industrial systems in the world to disrupt.

Citation: Rio, A.R., Saito, H., Katsumoto, H., Terai, T., & Sato, K. (2026). High-throughput exploration of Fe/Co-based ternary permanent magnets. Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmmm.2026.174190 (opens in a new tab)