Rare earth magnets are essential for clean energy, but only a tiny fraction of the metals inside them are ever recycled. Cyclic Materials aims to change that by opening one of the largest rare earth magnet recycling operations outside of China next year. By collecting a wide range of devices and recycling multiple metals, the company seeks to overcome the economic challenges that have long held back such efforts.

Powerful rare earth magnets are at the heart of many advanced technologies, from electric vehicle motors and wind turbine generators to smartphones and robots. Demand for key magnet metals like neodymium is expected to surge as the energy transition progresses, and new supplies are urgently needed—especially outside of China, which dominates the rare earth supply chain and further escalated export restrictions in response to recent US tariffs.

One largely untapped supply is the mountain of rare earth magnet–containing devices discarded each year. In China, rare earth magnet manufacturers recycle significant amounts of scrap from their fabrication process, and a smaller number of magnets are collected for recycling at end of life. But globally, just 0.2% of rare earths are recycled from spent devices, largely because it’s hard to collect magnets that are contained within billions of old gadgets.

Cyclic Materials is trying to address that challenge. In its two-part recycling process, rare earth–containing devices will first be amassed at “spoke” facilities. The devices will be shredded, and their magnet waste will be separated from steel parts and other recyclable metals before being sent to centralized “hubs,” where the company will use a chemical extraction process to recover a purified mixture of rare earth metals. 

Today, Cyclic Materials is constructing its first spoke facility in Mesa, Arizona, and its first commercial hub in Kingston, Ontario. These plants are expected to begin recycling magnets commercially next year in what is shaping up to be one of the largest such operations in the Western world.

Key indicators

• Industry: Critical minerals
• Founded: 2021
• Headquarters: Toronto, Canada
• Notable fact: Cyclic Materials is recovering rare earth magnets from wind turbines and has collected used turbines on three continents.

Potential for impact

With the first big waves of EVs and wind turbines approaching the end of their useful lives, rare earth magnet recycling could recover valuable resources and make the energy transition more sustainable. Cyclic Materials says its process uses 95% less water and produces roughly 60% fewer emissions than rare earth mining does.

The company is starting small, with its Kingston hub designed to recycle 500 metric tons of magnet waste a year. (By 2035, there could be over 43,000 metric tons of recyclable rare earth magnets in the US alone.) But with a list of roughly 2,000 potential device suppliers and customers, as well as more than $100 million in funding, the firm is positioning itself for global expansion. 

Caveats

Making a profit from rare earth recycling isn’t easy—it can cost more to collect and recycle rare earth magnets, which are deeply embedded in devices of different sizes and shapes, than a recycler will earn from reselling the metals. Even if rare earth metals can be recycled cost-effectively, there are only a few magnet makers outside of China to sell them to.

Cyclic Materials has signed agreements with a range of suppliers, including e-scooter and e-bike giant Lime and RenerCycle, which decommissions old wind turbines, to hoover up magnets wherever it can. Earlier this year, the firm announced it will sell its recycled rare earth mixture to the Brussels-based chemical company Solvay. But it will need more buyers to scale up further, which could mean waiting for the supply chain outside of China to expand. 

In the meantime, Cyclic Materials’ spoke facilities will also recycle aluminum, steel, and copper, providing additional revenue streams.

Next steps

Cyclic Materials intends to build more spoke and hub facilities around the world, first scaling its operations in North America, then expanding to Europe and Asia. It also plans to keep innovating: At its R&D center in Kingston, the company is developing ways to address recycling challenges in specific industries, such as how to rapidly deconstruct wind turbine generators and separate out their supersized magnets.