MP Materials to collaborate with Apple on rare earth elements recycling

Cupertino, California-based Apple Inc. has announced a new commitment to invest $500 million in MP Materials, a company the electronics firm calls the “only fully integrated rare earth producer in the United States.”

With the multiyear deal, Apple says it is committed to “buying American-made rare earth magnets developed at MP Materials’ flagship Independence facility in Fort Worth, Texas.”

The two companies also will work together to establish a rare earth elements (REE) recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and develop what Apple calls “novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance.”

The financing is part of an earlier Apple pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, according to the firm, consisting of investments in “American innovation, advanced manufacturing and next-generation recycling technologies.”

“American innovation drives everything we do at Apple, and we’re proud to deepen our investment in the U.S. economy,” says Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.

“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the U.S.,” Cook continues. “We couldn’t be more excited about the future of American manufacturing, and we will continue to invest in the ingenuity, creativity and innovative spirit of the American people.”

Apple says it will work with Las Vegas-based MP Materials to ramp up the Texas factory with a series of neodymium magnet manufacturing lines specifically designed for Apple products. The new equipment and technical capacity will allow MP Materials to significantly boost its overall production, according to Apple.

The magnets built in Fort Worth will be shipped nationally and worldwide to meet what Apple calls increasing global demand for REE-based products.

The two companies say they will provide extensive training to develop the workforce, building what Apple calls an entirely new pool of U.S. talent and expertise in magnet manufacturing.

When complete, the new recycling facility in Mountain Pass will enable MP Materials to take in recycled rare earth feedstock—including material from used electronics and post-industrial scrap—and reprocess it for use in Apple products.

Apple says it has been working with MP Materials for nearly five years to test recycling technology designed to recycle rare earth magnets into material that meets Apple’s standards for performance and design.

Apple refers to itself as a pioneer in the use of recycled REE in consumer electronics, introducing them in the “taptic” engine of iPhone 11 in 2019. “Today, nearly all magnets across Apple devices are made with 100 percent REE,” states Apple.

Concludes the electronics producer, “The collaboration with MP Materials will help secure domestic supply of this critical material, strengthen the U.S. rare earth industry’s capabilities to capture more raw material, and advance environmental progress with innovative recycling methods.”