Highlights
- USA Rare Earth signs MOU with Moog to develop domestic neodymium magnets for high-performance data center cooling systems
- Company plans to produce magnets at Stillwater, Oklahoma facility by 2026
- Aims to support U.S. de-risking from foreign supply chains
- Strategic milestone to establish a vertically integrated rare earth magnet production capability in the United States
USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) inked a memorandum of understanding (opens in a new tab) (MOU) with Moog Electric Motion Solutions (opens in a new tab) to prototype and qualify U.S.-made neodymium (neo) magnets for use in Moog’s CoreMotion™ coolant pumps—critical components for high-performance data centers increasingly driven by artificial intelligence infrastructure.
This approach aligns with a strategy that CEO Joshua Ballard shared with Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx) during a recent podcast. (opens in a new tab)
Ballard shared with the REEx team that the company would focus on the mid-market first.
Under the agreement, USAR will design, prototype, and test sintered neo magnets to replace foreign-sourced magnets currently used in Moog’s liquid cooling distribution systems. These magnets will be produced at USAR’s forthcoming Stillwater, Oklahoma, manufacturing facility, which is expected to come online in 2026. Moog, a leading supplier of precision fluid control systems, will use the prototypes to validate performance before committing to future offtake.
This marks a key milestone for USAR’s vertically integrated strategy: from controlling the Round Top Mountain rare earth deposit in Texas to domestic magnet production. The Stillwater Innovations Lab, already operational, enables USAR to simulate production and accelerate customer qualification.
Implications
The deal underscores growing industrial demand for domestic REE-based components as U.S. firms seek to de-risk from China. Data center cooling, a booming subsector driven by AI adoption, now joins defense and EVs as a magnet-critical market. If validated, Moog could become a flagship commercial customer for USAR, with potential expansion into aerospace and industrial automation.
The Challenge
Execution will be critical. USAR has yet to begin commercial-scale production. Scaling from lab to mass manufacturing in a compressed timeline, while maintaining magnet performance, is no small feat. Moog’s performance standards are high, and successful qualification will require precision metallurgy and materials engineering. Financing, technical ramp-up, and regulatory consistency will determine if USAR can truly deliver at scale—and on time.
Note again this fits into the exact strategy the company’s CEO shared with REEx.
Conclusion
If successful, this deal will help anchor a rare earth magnet supply chain within U.S. borders—delivering strategic resilience for a high-tech sector increasingly vulnerable to foreign chokeholds.
Currently priced at $13.97, USA Rare Earth 52 week range is 5.56 – 20.00.
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