MagNex : Magnets without Rare-Earth

MagNex: The AI-Discovered Magnet That Could Change Clean Energy

A UK startup called Materials Nexus has created a new magnet called MagNex — and it might be a big deal for electric cars, wind turbines, drones, and robots. What makes it special? It was designed with artificial intelligence (AI), and it doesn’t use rare-earth metals, which are usually expensive, hard to get, and bad for the environment.

Even better — it only took three months to create, which is about 200 times faster than normal.

Why This Is Important

1. No Rare-Earth Metals

Most strong magnets use rare elements like neodymium and dysprosium. These are mostly mined in China, and the mining process is harmful to the environment. MagNex doesn’t use any of them.

2. Cheaper and Cleaner

Making MagNex costs about 80% less than traditional rare-earth magnets, and it produces 70% less carbon pollution.

3. Fast Discovery

Using AI, the Materials Nexus team tested over 100 million combinations of metals on a computer to find the best one. Then they made and tested it in a lab — all in just a few months.

How They Did It

Materials Nexus worked with scientists from the University of Sheffield and the Henry Royce Institute in the UK. The AI system looked for materials that were:

• Strong magnets
• Cheap to make
• Easy to find
• Environmentally friendly

Once the AI found a few good options, the scientists made them and tested them to find the best one: MagNex.

Why It Matters

Fixing Supply Chain Problems

With the rise of electric vehicles and renewable energy, the world needs more magnets than ever. MagNex could help solve the problem of relying too much on rare, expensive metals.

Helping the Environment

Because MagNex uses more common materials and produces less carbon, it’s better for the planet.

A New Way to Make Materials

This is just the beginning. Materials Nexus plans to use the same AI technology to discover better semiconductors, superconductors, batteries, and more.

Their CEO, Dr. Jonathan Bean, said:

> "This is just one example of how AI can help us create materials that support climate goals."

What’s Next?

MagNex is promising, but it’s still new. It needs to prove that it can work as well as (or better than) current magnets in real-world products. It also needs to be made at a large scale.

But if it succeeds, it could help make green technology cheaper, faster, and more sustainable — and change how we invent materials in the future.