'This is a practical opportunity': £89m Northern Ireland magnet recycling plant planned with 55 new jobs and 275 construction roles
Ionic Technologies has submitted plans for a 10,798 sq m Titanic Quarter facility that would safeguard 25 jobs and contribute an estimated £11m a year in additional GVA to the Northern Ireland economy
The proposed 10,798 sq m facility would be built on a vacant, previously developed site at Harland Road in Channel Commercial Park, Belfast.
The £89m investment in Titanic Quarter would include a recycling and refining plant, offices, car parking, landscaping and associated site infrastructure.
If approved, it would expand Ionic Technologies' existing Belfast operation. The plant would recover, separate and refine rare-earth elements from end-of-life magnets and manufacturing waste, producing high-purity rare-earth oxides for use in electric vehicles, wind turbines and advanced manufacturing.
Rare-earth materials are critical to these industries, yet supply remains concentrated in international markets and exposed to long supply chains. Ionic Technologies says the facility would help build a more secure and circular domestic supply of these materials.
An economic impact assessment submitted with the application estimates that the 30-week construction phase could support the equivalent of around 275 full-time construction jobs and generate £19.6m in GVA across NI.
Once operational, the facility is projected to contribute around £11m a year in net additional GVA to the NI economy and approximately £325,000 a year in non-domestic rates.
The proposal builds on research originating at Queen's University Belfast and more than a decade of technology development by Ionic Technologies. The scheme is planned for a seven-acre brownfield site in Belfast's historic dockland.
Tim Harrison, managing director of Ionic Rare Earths, said: "Submitting this application is an important step towards a major long-term investment in Belfast, built around technology developed locally.
"Subject to approval, the facility would create highly skilled jobs, support advanced manufacturing and return rare-earth materials already in circulation to the supply chain."
He added: "This is a practical opportunity for NI to develop capability in a strategically important sector, reflecting our confidence in Belfast as a base for developing a sustainable and secure supply of rare-earth materials for UK and international customers."
Ionic Technologies is a Belfast-based advanced-materials company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Ionic Rare Earths Limited. The company has received an Offer in Principle for a £12m capital grant from the UK Government's Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) towards the proposed facility. The offer, made in partnership with the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK as part of the Automotive Transformation Fund DRIVE35 programme, remains subject to relevant conditions and approvals.
The application, accompanied by environmental, transport and economic assessments, has been submitted to Belfast City Council.