Read the last paragraph - this is what the constant attacks on here are all about. After reading it if you don't quite get it, read it again.
Now there is without doubt room for both, but some or rather someone is just plain greedy and have gone personal with this due to one posters very in depth analysis of Pensana previously. Yes it's that petty folks. This is of course putting aside the huge money aspect. This individual is a very big fish financially with considerable weight and access at the top level. ( I digress)....
Pensana and Ionic Rare Earths are not direct competitors, though they overlap in being part of the UK’s broader strategy to build sovereign critical mineral supply chains. Here’s a clearer comparison:
1. Core Focus Areas
Pensana
Building a rare-earth separation plant at Saltend (Humber Freeport) to process oxide feedstock (e.g., from its Longonjo mine in Angola) into neodymium/praseodymium and other magnet metals .
Funded by Phase 1 ATF, plus additional grants (e.g. £4 million), backed by strategic UK industrial policy .
Ionic Rare Earths (via Ionic Technologies/Seren Tech)
Developing a magnet-recycling rare-earth oxide (REO) facility in Belfast—recovering metals from post-consumer and industrial magnet waste .
Already received ~£1.7–5 million in Innovate UK and ATF SuRV grants and is lined up for a potential cornerstone ATF award .
2. Do They Compete?
Different parts of the supply chain
Pensana focuses on separation of mined rare-earth oxides.
Ionic targets recycling of end‑of‑life magnets.
Some overlap in ATF eligibility, but not overlapping resource streams—they serve complementary parts of the UK’s rare‑earth supply ecosystem.
3. Strategic Rationale
Both are seen as critical UK projects aligned with EV and green energy goals—worthy of government funding .
Pensana enables mined raw-material separation; Ionic helps USA/UK meet supply needs via circular economy and waste recycling paths.
In fact, both can be funded concurrently without directly cannibalizing each other’s value—each adds unique capability.
Final Verdict
They’re not in head-to-head competition—their processes address different sources and functions within the rare-earth supply chain.
However, they might compete for limited funding rounds (e.g. ATF Phase 2 grants), even while advancing complementary national goals.
(20min delay)