# Evolution Metals expands Korea magnet plant to 10,000 tons *The US firm is scaling its Pohang facility ten-fold to 10,000 metric tons ahead of a January 2027 Pentagon ban on Chinese rare earths, relying on Japanese tooling and Vietnamese feed.* **Published:** September 28, 2026 **By:** Ji-woo Han **Section:** Semiconductors & AI Hardware — South Korea **Format:** Company Watch **Confidence:** high **Source:** https://eastasiabrief.com/semiconductors/evolution-metals-expands-korea-magnet-plant-10-000-tons-402 **Publisher:** East Asia Brief (https://eastasiabrief.com/) --- ## What to know - Pohang plant scales from 1,000 to 10,000 metric tons of magnet capacity - 13 ULVAC production machines arrive in November 2026 - DFARS 252.225-7052 bans Chinese-origin rare earth magnets on Jan. 1, 2027 ![Workers monitor an automated production line of metal blocks inside a permanent magnet manufacturing facility in South Korea. (AI-generated image)](https://eastasiabrief.com/media/2026-09-27-a9120ecddd3a.webp) *Workers monitor an automated production line of metal blocks inside a permanent magnet manufacturing facility in South Korea. (AI-generated image)* Evolution Metals & Technologies Corp. reiterated on Sept. 25, 2026 that it is accelerating commercial-scale rare earth magnet production to displace Chinese materials across North American supply chains. The Miami-based manufacturer is expanding its permanent magnet manufacturing plant in Pohang, South Korea, from 1,000 metric tons to 10,000 metric tons of annual capacity. The 10,000-ton target includes roughly 6,000 metric tons of high-performance sintered neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets, representing about a tenth of projected Western demand for electrified mobility and defense systems. Sintered NdFeB magnets — compacted blocks of rare earth alloys that generate intense permanent magnetic fields — are vital inputs for electric vehicle traction motors, precision-guided munitions and naval guidance assemblies. China controls more than 90% of global permanent magnet manufacturing and 95% of rare earth metallization, leaving allied aerospace and defense contractors exposed to unilateral export embargoes. To support the ten-fold output increase, the company executed binding purchase orders for 13 sintered magnet production machines from Japan's ULVAC Inc. The specialized Japanese sintering units are scheduled for physical delivery and site installation at the Pohang complex in November 2026. Evolution Metals also secured a utility agreement with state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) to expand dedicated electricity transmission to the Pohang site from 130 megawatts to 750 megawatts. KEPCO agreed to fund approximately 90% of the capital expenditure required for high-voltage substations, cabling and related civil works under the agreed framework. The expansion involves acquiring 1.3 million square feet of industrial land from the Pohang City government, enlarging the facility floor footprint from 24,000 square feet to 482,000 square feet. Municipal authorities in Pohang and Gyeongsangbuk-do provincial administrators granted conditional approval for an investment subsidy package valued at approximately $20.7 million to support construction costs. The industrial buildout operates under an unyielding regulatory calendar established by the United States Department of Defense. Under Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) clause 252.225-7052, American defense contractors face a statutory ban beginning Jan. 1, 2027 on permanent magnets containing rare earth elements mined, separated or refined in China. The restriction prohibits Chinese-origin neodymium, samarium and dysprosium across all Tier 1 defense hardware, including the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet and Raytheon guided missiles. Compliance requires audited, traceable material provenance through the entire value chain, starting at the mine mouth and running through metallization to the finished sintered block. To establish non-Chinese feedstock conduits, Evolution Metals contracted with Tokyo-based commodity merchant Senri Trading Co. for primary metal supplies. Evolution Metals took delivery of an initial commercial parcel of five metric tons of neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) metal in July 2026. The material was refined and cast by SRE Vietnam Co., a wholly owned processing subsidiary of Japan's Tokai Trading Co. operating outside Chinese sovereign control. The company projects that scaling the Pohang site will produce a sharp inflection in its audited financial accounts. Evolution Metals issued guidance forecasting fiscal 2026 revenue of $5 million to $8 million, before jumping to $400 million to $460 million in fiscal 2027 as volume deliveries commence. Capital markets widened institutional access to the company on Sept. 21, 2026, when index provider FTSE Russell formally added Evolution Metals to both the Russell 2000 and broad-market Russell 3000 indexes. Management cautioned in regulatory disclosures that full realization of the fiscal 2027 revenue forecast depends on timely equipment commissioning, conversion of exploratory customer memoranda into binding delivery contracts and stable working capital financing. The company has not filed regulatory disclosures establishing site acquisition or capital expenditure plans for a finished permanent magnet factory on domestic US soil. The 13 ULVAC production machines arrive at the Pohang facility in November 2026, marking the operational hurdle that determines whether the plant meets the Pentagon's Jan. 1, 2027 procurement deadline. ## Impact map | Event | Korea | China | Japan | Global impact | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | DFARS 2027 magnet restriction | Evolution Metals adds 9,000 tons of capacity in Pohang backed by $20.7 million local grant | Excluded from US defense magnet supply chain; loses processing margin on defense NdFeB | ULVAC books 13 tool orders; Tokai subsidiary SRE Vietnam supplies non-China metal | Defense primes face audit costs to trace mine-to-magnet compliance before Jan. 1, 2027 | ## In this story - **Companies:** Evolution Metals & Technologies - **Tickers:** EMAT - **Exposed:** ULVAC, KEPCO, Tokai Trading - **Policy:** Export Controls, Subsidies - **Impact:** Supply Chain, Capex, Compliance ## Primary sources 1. sec.gov --- Cite as: East Asia Brief, "Evolution Metals expands Korea magnet plant to 10,000 tons," September 28, 2026. https://eastasiabrief.com/semiconductors/evolution-metals-expands-korea-magnet-plant-10-000-tons-402