A Landisville company is at the vanguard of research aimed at tackling critical shortages of the rare earth materials used to make high-tech magnets that do everything from powering your Prius to vibrating your cellphone.
Electron Energy Corporation received an $80,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for preliminary investigation into recycling scrap rare earth elements from industrial sites or discarded electronic products.
The research is a first step, says Peter Dent, vice president, business development, towards a potential new line of business and a way to cut internal costs at Electron Energy. Founder Marlin Walmer, a Hamilton Watch engineer, started the company in 1970 in a Lancaster County milk house when the rare earth industry was in its infancy. To this day, Electron is one of a very few domestic producers in the rare earth magnet industry, used in industry sectors including defense, energy, telecommunications, consumer electrics and medical devices.
But for the last few years, the supply of rare earth elements (those that lurk near the bottom of the periodic table) used to make neodymium-iron-boron and samarium-cobalt magnets has been in a stranglehold. China, which accounts for 94% of production, drastically cut its export quotas, driving prices up.
Electron continues to grow from its original milk house, recently named a historical landmark by ASM International, to a recently-acquired, second 43,000-square-foot building, more than doubling its space.
Source: Peter Dent, Electron Energy Corporation
Writer: Elise Vider
