Cyclic Materials on Turning Scrap into Supply as Rare Earths Demand Soars

Rare earth element (REE) recycling is moving from niche curiosity to strategic necessity as the clean energy transition increasingly stokes demand for permanent magnets.

Currently, less than 1 percent of rare earths are recycled, even as magnet demand is projected to triple by 2035. The gap could leave the west facing as much as a 30 percent supply shortfall unless scrap flows are tapped at scale.

“Today, magnetic REEs make up around 30 percent of overall REE volume, but they capture more than 80 percent of the value,” McKinsey notes in a July report. “Moving forward, global demand for magnetic REEs is expected to triple from 59 kilotons (kt) in 2022 to 176 kt in 2035, driven by strong growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, which is outpacing the substitution of REEs with copper coil magnets, as well as the high rate of renewable capacity expansions in wind.”

Policymakers are also starting to act: the EU’s Critical Raw Materials rules aim for recycling to meet roughly a quarter of the region's rare earths needs by 2030, prompting public-private pilots and new plants across Europe.

At the same time, startups are commercializing lower-emission and higher-yield separation methods for NdFeB magnets and other feedstocks, from automotive scrap to end-of-life wind turbines.

One such company is Cyclic Materials. Founded in 2021, the privately owned Canadian cleantech company is working to advance a circular supply chain for REEs in North America.

The Investing News Network sat down with CEO and co-founder Ahmad Ghahreman at the recent Rare Earth Mines, Magnets & Motors event in Toronto, Canada, to discuss rare earths recycling and his vision for Cyclic’s growth.

“Our goal is to make these metals more circular by recycling end-of-life products, from electric motors in your cars to power tools in the garage, hard disk drives in data centers. The list really goes on — MRI machines, medical devices and whatnot, and basically recycle REEs and supply those back into the market,” he said.

Unlike other metals like copper, aluminum and nickel, which boast recycling rates of 40 percent, the rare earths recycling market has struggled. Part of the problem is the difficulty in separation.

Citing McKinsey’s report, Ghahreman noted that technical challenges are a major impediment to REE recycling. Magnets, often bonded with iron or steel, typically end up in steel recycling streams, causing valuable REEs to be lost.

Historically, low volumes of magnets in the market limited recycling efforts, but with demand for magnets set to surge — driven by EVs, wind turbines and electronics — recycling is becoming increasingly critical.

Cyclic’s proprietary MagCycle and REEPure technologies recover and refine REEs from end-of-life magnets in the products Ghahreman listed above, turning waste into reusable raw materials.

“For every 100 tonnes of material that comes to Cyclic Materials, more than 99 tonnes of that is recycled as a product,” he said. The remaining 1 percent is mixed, unrecyclable plastics.

After launching its first commercial demo plant in 2023 and a hydrometallurgical facility in Kingston, Ontario, in 2024, Cyclic is now expanding internationally, with Mesa, Arizona, marking its first US site.

Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.