The deep tech startup MAGN'UP is launching to develop a new generation of sustainable magnets that do not contain rare earth elements

The deep tech startup MAGN’UP is launching to develop a new generation of sustainable magnets that do not contain rare earth elements

Publié le

8 September 2026

The startup MAGN’UP is taking a new step forward in the transfer of research-based innovations by launching the development, production, and commercialization of a new generation of recyclable, rare-earth-free permanent magnets based on innovative nanomaterials.

This young deep-tech startup aims to address several major challenges: strengthening European industrial sovereignty, supporting the green transition, and overcoming the barriers to component miniaturization for cutting-edge technologies.

The technology developed by MAGN’UP is based on the synthesis of innovative nanomaterials that enable the design of eco-friendly permanent magnets without the use of rare earth elements. Its approach rethinks the entire magnetic value chain around three principles: reducing the amount of material through miniaturization, ensuring material traceability, and incorporating recyclability from the design stage. The magnets developed are thus designed to be more easily identifiable, recoverable, and reintroduced into production cycles.

Beyond this technological innovation, MAGN’UP claims to have a significant environmental impact. By prioritizing critical materials that are already widely recycled in Europe, such as cobalt, and through a rapid assembly process carried out at room temperature, the startup aims to significantly reduce water and energy consumption while limiting pollution associated with resource extraction.

MAGN’UP, which has been incubated since January at PC’UP, the ESPCI Paris Incubator, benefits from a scientific and technological environment conducive to accelerating its development, in close proximity to research laboratories.

For the PEPR DIADEM, the launch of this startup is a particularly significant milestone. MAGN’UP is, in fact, a direct result of the work conducted by the LPCNO and the LAAS on integrated magnets, which is at the heart of the BiMAn project, one of the flagship projects of the program dedicated to the development of new magnetic materials.

This continuity between basic research, collaborative research, and entrepreneurship fully illustrates the PEPR DIADEM’s ambition to accelerate the transfer of scientific findings into innovations with significant industrial and environmental impact.

This is also reflected in the close ties between MAGN’UP and the BiMAn consortium: three members of the startup’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) are participating in the project, namely Sébastien Teychené (LGC), Guillaume Viau (LPCNO), and Lise-Marie Lacroix (LPCNO). Thierry Leichlé (LAAS), the fourth member of the SAB, is one of the co-inventors of the patent related to nanoparticle-based magnet technology.

This scientific collaboration reflects the quality of the partnerships developed under the PEPR and helps foster the emergence of disruptive technological solutions that address the strategic challenges of critical materials, industrial sovereignty, and the circular economy.

PEPR DIADEM extends its heartfelt congratulations to co-founders Franck Jouin and Marc Pousthomis on the launch of MAGN’UP and wishes them every success in this new entrepreneurial venture.