IONIC TECHNOLOGIES SECURES UK GOVERNMENT BACKING WITH GBP11M 'CirculaREEconomy' PARTNERSHIP

Published: 2025-07-14 07:38:15 ET IXR.AX

Published on 07/14/2025 at 07:38

onic Rare Earths Limited ('IonicRE' or the 'Company') (ASX: IXR) wholly owned subsidiary Ionic Technologies has successfully secured UK Government funding for the next three years for pioneering Collaborate funding, facilitated via the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), in a significant boost to the creation of a sovereign and sustainable UK rare earth permanent magnet (REPM) supply chain.

Ionic Technologies led the establishment of the unique consortium for a successful bid, which was officially announced by APC on 13 July 2025. Ionic Technologies will lead the GBP11 million 'CirculaREEconomy' project, commencing from 1 August 2025, which necessitates the production of high purity, separated rare earth oxides (REOs) from its Demonstration Plant in Belfast, UK. The project is aligned with the APC's efforts to support electric drivetrain capability in the UK, with the project serving the e-motor market, promoting capability in permanent magnet synchronous motor technology.

Ionic Technologies' direct allocation as part of the overall program will be approximately GBP3.1 million (approximately A$6.4 million) over the program. Having established Ionic Technologies as a key strategic player in the REPM supply chain, IonicRE has been able to create, lead, and successfully obtain UK Government backing for a unique circular supply chain for the UK. Ionic Technologies and its collaboration partners will work with leading German REPM manufacturers to produce the best available sintered magnets for use in e-motors. Notably, Ionic Technologies will be working closely with market leaders for each supply chain stage to deliver on its vision for a UK-based circular supply chain for rare earth elements (REEs) via longloop recycling.

Welcoming the UK Government grant, IonicRE Managing Director, Mr Tim Harrison stated: 'IonicRE is delighted to receive this hugely welcome and additional support from the APC to continue our work with our supply chain partners, both existing and new, as we build a sovereign and sustainable UK-based rare earth permanent magnet supply chain. 'Over the past two years we have successfully delivered the initial work stream with both Ford, LCM and GKN, and we look forward to seeing our recycled magnets soon in EVs being manufactured by Ford at Halewood in the UK. We also anticipate expanding on that with relationships now extending to both Bentley and Wrightbus on downstream supply of recycled REOs, and upstream partnerships with EMR on sourcing, completing a circular supply chain with the support of two of our magnet partners, Vacuumschmelze and GKN in Germany. 'With the export of REPMs from China effectively turned off in April, the customer base has felt firsthand the risk of complete dependence on a monopolistic supply chain. These initiatives enable the customer base to see that ex-China capability is possible with the support of Western governments, and we congratulate the UK Government for delivering on their vision of sovereign supply.' IonicRE Executive Chairman, Mr Brett Lynch commented: 'This is another significant demonstration of the UK Government's support for the development of a sovereign, secure and sustainable rare earth supply chain. Vision is important but execution is essential and IonicRE is delighted by this additional support as we develop a fully integrated UK rare earth supply chain. 'IonicRE continues to build a global industrial business, with the aim of developing multiple magnet recycling plants located in the US and Brazil, adding to our established Belfast Demonstration Plant with its unique technology.

Ionic Rare Earths Limited Level 5 South 459 Collins Street Melbourne Vic 3000 Australia Phone: +61 3 9776 3434 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ionicre.com ACN: 083 646 477

'We are taking small steps but very quickly with an extremely lean but fast-paced expansion strategy. By prudently deploying capital and resources, as well as securing non-dilutive government funding, IonicRE is hyperscaling our global magnet recycling business and maximising shareholder returns.'

Fully Formed Circular Supply Chain Owing to the criticality of REPM supply chains, three of the UK's leading automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) form part of the collaboration, as well as the other key rare earth supply chain partners, with whom Ionic Technologies already has established working relationships. The collaborators in the GBP11million CirculaREEconomy initiative comprise: Ionic Technologies - project leader, world-leading REE recycler and magnet REO producer; EMR - global leader in sustainable materials with physical operations in the UK, USA, Germany, and the Netherlands; currently an IonicRE partner under a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (refer ASX release 26 May 2025); Less Common Metals - the world's most advanced, ex-China REE metal and REE alloy manufacturer, and IonicRE partner organisation under a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (refer ASX release 27 May 2024); Ford Technologies - a Ford Motor Company subsidiary, Ford Technologies owns and operates a major Research & Development complex at Dunton, Essex, UK. Ford currently has four drive production facilities globally and the majority of EU production will come from its UK-based Halewood facility, which is planning to produce close to half a million units per annum by 2026; Bentley - a premium car brand, based in Crewe, UK, and part of the Volkswagen Group, Bentley is targeting full electrification of its product range, putting priority on sustainability while setting new benchmarks in performance and luxury; Wrightbus - one of Europe's leading bus manufacturers, based in Ballymena, UK. Wrightbus produces world leading electric and hydrogen buses, serving customers across the continent with a focus on sustainability and decarbonisation; British Geological Survey (BGS) - a world-leading geological survey and global geoscience organisation, focused on public-good science for government and research to understand earth and environmental processes. BGS is the UK's premier provider of objective and authoritative geoscientific and critical minerals data; GKN Powder Metallurgy (GKN) - GKN delivers precision-engineered permanent magnet solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), enhancing efficiency, performance, and sustainability. GKN's advanced magnetic materials support electric drivetrains, motors, and energy systems, optimising power density and reducing energy loss. GKN provided a Letter of Support for the project and has worked with Ford, LCM and Ionic Technologies as part of the Climates program and Vacuumschmelze (VAC) - a leading global manufacturer of advanced magnetic solutions, rare-earth permanent magnets and inductive components that contribute to global decarbonisation. VAC provided a Letter of Support for the project and has worked with LCM and Ionic Technologies as part of the REEvaluate project within the Climates II program.

Critical Circular Technology Advancement

Each partner in the ground-breaking project will conduct innovative work to promote circularity in the UK's e-motor manufacturing industry, with the project commencing on 1 August 2025. EMR will work in partnership with Ionic Technologies to develop an efficient route to recover critical materials from motors. EMR will aim to provide material compliant with Ionic Technologies' broad acceptance criteria for magnet feedstock, also seeking to create processes that enhance traceability. Ionic Technologies will process material received from EMR into separated REOs by its proprietary long-loop hydrometallurgical recycling method. The business will broaden the range of feedstock proven to be compatible with its recycling technology and prepare for full commercialisation. Ionic Technologies will also develop processing routes for other REEs and preparatory work to aid metal making, as well as leading the overall project. LCM will receive REOs from Ionic Technologies and seek to optimise the processes used for metal making and alloy manufacturing. The collaboration will work in partnership with magnet makers to manufacture on-specification magnets for Ford, Bentley and Wrightbus. These OEMs will deploy and test magnet performance and progress to offtake validation for the UK-based supply chain.

Government Backing for Ionic Technologies

Ionic Technologies' Belfast plant was the first producer of recycled, individually separated magnet REOs in the Western world, with the Company moving rapidly to commercialise rare earth separation, refining, and recycling. Ionic Technologies is now producing individually separated quantities of magnet rare earths oxides - Neodymium Oxide (Nd2O3), Didymium Oxide ((NdPr)2O3), Dysprosium Oxide (Dy2O3) and Terbium Oxide (Tb4O7) at its Belfast demonstration facility. Ionic Technologies has previously produced high purity, separated REOs to LCM, as part of another strategic project with Ford and LCM (refer ASX release 12 September 2023). The UK Government has again backed Ionic Technologies as a producer of REE products from recycling that are suitable for EV motors and drivetrain technology in the UK. This is acknowledged in its E-motors value chain Insight Report and in a recent Financial Times article about the business. The Collaborate funded project, facilitated by the APC and funded by the UK Government, underwent a stringent and competitive appraisal process and scored highly with APC assessors, in part due to strong alignment with scope for designing, developing, and manufacturing new automotive

Mr Harrison added: 'The UK currently imports around 90% of its rare earth metals, creating significant supply vulnerabilities and economic dependence, and this funding is a much-needed step forward in addressing this critical vulnerability to the UK defence, manufacturing and renewables sectors. 'Our magnet recycling technology enables an alternative supply chain to start to be created, via low capital development, that can be scalable and responsive to demand, and developed in the backyard of Western governments, providing customers both security of supply and transparency in both environmental footprint and cost base independent of price manipulation. 'As we saw with recent developments in the United States, changes are now occurring in the rare earth sector, and we believe our magnet recycling technology can be a big enabler in creating near term resilient rare earth capacity in the West.' APC CEO, Mr Ian Constance said: 'This funding award aligns perfectly with our commitment to transform the automotive sector through innovative zero-emission and CAM vehicle technologies. By continuing to prioritise collaboration between industry, government, and academia, we can support research and development, vehicle innovation, and unlock capital investment in manufacturing plants and their wider supply chains.'

Status on Export Restrictions China's April

announcement of additional export restrictions on medium and heavy rare earths, including Dy and Tb, has resulted in a substantial increase of inbound requests for additional or excess Dy or Tb capacity available from Ionic Technologies, highlighting the urgent need for the development of an ex-China rare earth supply chain. The Company is continuing to engage with various groups to determine mutually beneficial opportunities in developing new, secure and sustainable supply chains, with the benefit of Ionic Technologies' fast-track and low capex magnet recycling solution

Contact:

Tim Harrison

Tel: +61 (3) 9776 3434

About Ionic Rare Earths Ltd

Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR or IonicRE) is an emerging miner, refiner and recycler of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earths needed to develop net-zero carbon technologies. Ionic Technologies International Limited ('Ionic Technologies'), a 100% owned UK subsidiary, has developed processes for the separation and recovery of rare earth elements (REE) from mining ore concentrates and recycled permanent magnets. Ionic Technologies is focusing on the commercialisation of the technology to achieve near complete extraction from end-of-life / spent magnets and waste (swarf) to high value, separated and traceable magnet rare earth products with grades exceeding 99.5% rare earth oxide (REO). The Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda, 60% owned by IonicRE, is well-supported by existing tier-one infrastructure and is on track to become a long-life, low Capex, scalable and sustainable supplier of high-value magnet and heavy REO. IonicRE has also executed a transformational 50/50 joint venture refinery and magnet recycling facility in Brazil with Viridis Mining and Minerals Limited (ASX: VMM) to separate high value magnet and heavy rare earths from the Colossus Project's full spectrum of REOs. This integrated strategy completes the circular economy of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earth products needed to supply applications critical to EVs, offshore wind turbines, communication, and key defence initiatives.