Attero to invest in rare earth elements recycling

Attero, which also recycles electronic scrap and lithium-ion batteries, intends to increase its ability to make recycled-content rare earth elements (REE) from 300 metric tons to 30,000 metric tons of annual capacity.

The New Delhi-based recycling company plans to invest 1 billion Indian rupees, or $11.5 million, over the next two years to harvest rare earth metals, including neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium, from obsolete items such as hard disk drives, laptop computers, wearables and earphones.

Attero says its move directly supports the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM), launched this year by the government of India to reduce import dependence and promote self-reliance in critical mineral supply chains.

The REEs being targeted are used in applications that include electric vehicles (EVs), wind energy and consumer electronics and are part of a global market projected to reach more than $10.9 billion in value by 2029.

“Attero has consistently advocated for India’s self-reliance in critical minerals to reduce dependence on imports and counter China’s dominance in rare earth supply chains,” Attero co-founder and CEO Nitin Gupta says. “We are proud to be the only Indian company with proven deep-tech and globally patented processes to refine black mass and recover REEs with over 98 percent efficiency and 99.9 percent purity.

“The current global environment only reinforces the urgency of building domestic infrastructure. With our existing capability and technology leadership, we are ready to scale our REE recycling capacity from 1 to 100 metric tons per day to reach a total of 30,000 metric tons annually and explore further expansion as demand accelerates.”

In addition to neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium, Attero says its patented technology also can extract cerium and gadolinium, noting its process is energy-efficient and cost-effective and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared with traditional mining.

Beyond REEs, Attero refines black mass to produce high-purity recycled-content lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese.

In its most recent fiscal year, Attero says it processed more than 150,000 metric tons of obsolete electronics and another 15,000 metric tons of lithium-ion batteries.

This year, Attero is targeting year-on-year growth of 100 percent, including plans to expand its geographic footprint in the United States and Europe.

The company was founded in 2008 by Rohan and Nitin Gupta and has a presence in India, Australia, Poland, Singapore, South Korea and the U.S.