Machdyne's FERRIT Packs 256 MB of F-RAM Into an Open Source USB Storage Device Built to Last 200 Years

What if your storage medium could outlive you, your children, and several generations after that? German hardware company Machdyne is betting on ferroelectric RAM with its new FERRIT, a modular USB storage device that combines up to 256 F-RAM chips to deliver 256 MB of capacity with a data retention target of 200 years and virtually unlimited write endurance. The entire project, including KiCad schematics, PCB layouts, and C firmware, is open source on GitHub under the permissive Lone Dynamics Open License.

FERRIT is built around three components: the FERRIT-CY controller powered by the Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller with a USB-C port, the FERRIT-M8 removable memory cards each holding up to 16 MB across 16 individual 1 MB F-RAM ICs, and the FERRIT-16 backplane that connects up to 16 memory cards over an SPI/QSPI bus. The device presents itself as a standard USB mass storage device, so no special drivers or software are needed. Current prototypes use single-sided memory modules capping out at 128 MB, though dual-sided modules will push that to the full 256 MB.

The F-RAM chips appear to be RAMXEED MB85RQ8MXPF parts (datasheet), which spec write endurance at 10 to the 13th power cycles at 105°C (221°F) and data retention of 200 years at 35°C (95°F). That retention figure drops with temperature, falling to 95 years at 55°C (131°F) and 10 years at 105°C (221°F). The radiation resistance of F-RAM also makes FERRIT interesting for aerospace or archival applications where traditional flash storage would degrade.

FERRIT is a significant step up from Machdyne's earlier Blaustahl device, which offered just 8 KB of F-RAM storage. The capacity jump to 256 MB opens up real-world use cases like cryptographic key storage, critical documentation archives, and historical record preservation. The RP2040 controller and USB interface obviously will not last two centuries, but the memory cards themselves could be migrated to future controllers as interfaces evolve. Pricing is not yet set. Machdyne is taking reservations on the product page and asking prospective buyers what they would pay. For context, the F-RAM chips alone run about $25 each in volume, putting the raw memory cost for a full 256-chip system around $6,400 (€5,890) before boards, enclosure, or assembly.