Dive Brief:
- Cyclic Materials, a metals recycling company for rare earth and other critical metals, will build a recycling plant and research center in Kingston, Ontario.
- The $25 million facility, meant to process 500 metric tons of material a year, is expected to open sometime in the first quarter of 2026. Cyclic will recycle magnets from end-of-life products as well as other “industry magnet waste” at the 140,000 square foot facility.
- Cyclic’s technology transforms the material into a mixed rare earth oxide product it says can be used to make magnets used in EV motors, wind turbines, and consumer electronics. The company is backed by funding from Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund and Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund.
Dive Insight:
Cyclic’s investment in the new facility comes as demand for rare earth materials used for electronics and other technology is rising. In recent years, the U.S. has called for strengthening domestic supply chains for the minerals, framing it as an economic and manufacturing priority because other countries, such as China, currently corner the market on certain minerals commonly used in electronics.
Kunal Phalpher, senior vice president of corporate development, said Cyclic aims to establish itself as a dependable source for recycled rare earth material in both the U.S. and Canada, positioning the company as a key player able to meet rising demand. Cyclic also plans to expand in Europe in the future.
“Rare earths have never been that high on international agendas, and not only in North America,” he said in an email. “With over 95% of the [rare earth elements] being processed solely in China, industry leaders need new partners to build a resilient, local, and circular supply chain that reduces dependence on overseas sources and drastically reduces environmental impact.”
Cyclic will source feedstock for the Ontario facility from its facility in Mesa, Arizona, which processes end-of-life products. Cyclic announced in April that it had invested $20 million in the Mesa facility to become its main location for separating magnets from products such as electric vehicle motors and e-scrap.
Cyclic also has a “growing network of partners supplying magnet scrap from production,” the company said in the news release.
Phalpher said Ontario is the ideal location for the new recycling facility because the company already has a demonstration facility in Kingston. The region is also home to other notable cleantech companies as well as several universities and research labs, which offers a “highly qualified talent pool,” he said. Of Cyclic’s 60 employees, 20 are already located in Kingston, he said. The new recycling facility is expected to add 45 more jobs, the company said.
Cyclic expects to supply “key partners” with the mixed rare earth oxide product it produces at the Ontario facility. One partner is Solvay, a rare earth materials supply company that signed an offtake agreement with Cyclic in 2024 to supply its plant in France.
Cyclic also has a partnership with scooter company Lime to recycle magnets from the motors of end-of-life e-scooters, and has also partnered with Sims Lifecycle Services to pilot some of Cyclic’s electronics processing technology.
