Production, Technology, Jobs — The American Advanced Manufacturing Renaissance
On July 15, 2025, Apple announced a $500M (approximately 680B KRW) partnership with MP Materials — America''s only integrated rare earth producer — to supply rare earth magnets and build an advanced recycling facility. This partnership is a large-scale investment that could be a "game changer" for the US advanced materials industry and is one of the core projects in Apple''s promised $500B four-year US domestic investment plan.
Apple will purchase large quantities of neodymium (NdFeB) magnets produced at MP Materials'' flagship factory being newly built in Fort Worth, Texas, over the coming years. These magnets are used in critical components like vibration, speakers, and motors in major Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and AirPods. This contract is the first case of large-scale purchasing of magnets produced exclusively in the US, being evaluated as a signal shot for the revival of US advanced manufacturing and materials industries. Apple is pursuing three simultaneous goals: "American materials, American innovation" — global supply chain stability, technology sovereignty strengthening, and job creation.
Apple and MP Materials will also establish an advanced recycling factory in Mountain Pass, California, refining rare earths extracted from used electronics and industrial scrap for reuse in new magnet manufacturing. Apple first introduced 100% recycled rare earth magnets in the iPhone11 Taptic Engine in 2019, with nearly all current Apple device magnets made from 100% recycled rare earths. The two companies have been refining recycling technology experimentally for the past 5 years. The Fort Worth factory will build Apple-dedicated neodymium magnet manufacturing lines, greatly expanding MP Materials'' production capacity and creating dozens of high-end manufacturing and R&D jobs in the US. This investment simultaneously achieves stable US domestic materials supply, eco-friendly technology development, and global competitiveness — aligning with the US government''s CHIPS Act strategy and IRA policy of strengthening domestic manufacturing. "Rare earth materials are the core of advanced technology manufacturing" — this partnership demonstrates "American technology as global AI innovation standard" while also leading global "green supply chain."
