Rosatom expects to produce tonnes of rare earth magnets in Udmurtia in H1 2029

MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - Rosatom expects to complete the ramp-up of a plant producing rare-earth magnets in Udmurtia in the first half of 2029.

"The plant will produce 500 tonnes of rare-earth magnets and will be fitted with equipment in 2028. The first half of 2029 will be dedicated to fine-tuning the technology and gradually moving to the full ramp-up of the plant," Rosatom Metal Tech CEO Andrei Andrianov told journalists at the Magnetech-2026 conference.

"On the global scale, this is more similar to test production. As we gradually develop the site, we are moving from test production to mass production: the first stage is for 500 tonnes, then later 1,000 tonnes, and the volumes will grow in future," Andrianov said.

Konstantin Fyodorov, deputy head of the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry's metallurgy and materials department, said in his presentation at the conference that Russia had produced 284 tonnes of permanent magnets in 2025, with consumption totaling 610 tonnes. These were mainly made by producers of electric motors, generators, actuators, sensors and specialized electronics.

"There is a vicious circle here. Lacking a supply of magnets, component manufacturers import fully assembled units," Andrianov said. "As soon as we enter the market with a Russian-produced magnet, a product becomes available and the developers of end products can already start to gradually localize."

The products made at the new plant will be in a relatively high price category, partly eliminating the need to compete with the prices of Chinese players. "We are planning to produce magnets for in-demand applications, including electric cars and robotic technology. These magnets with added heavy rare-earth elements are thus in a completely different price category," Andrianov said.