Cyclic Materials expands rare earth recycling partnership

Toronto-based Cyclic Materials has announced that its partnership with Vacuumschmelze (Vac), a leading developer of magnetic materials and solutions, has been expanded with the signing of a 10-year agreement.

Under the exclusive agreement, Cyclic Materials will recycle 100 percent of the magnet production byproducts (i.e., swarf) produced at Vac's new manufacturing facility in Sumter, South Carolina, that is scheduled to begin operations at the end of 2025. This extended partnership builds on the 2024 agreement between the companies that ensures efficient recycling of critical materials used in high-performance permanent magnets.

Germany-based Vac produces neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) rare earth (REE) magnets, which are used in automotive, defense, industrial and renewable energy applications. Through this extended agreement, Vac also strengthens its commitment to circularity with the option to reintegrate recycled mixed rare earth oxides from Cyclic Materials into its own production processes.

"At Cyclic Materials, our mission is to recover critical materials from permanent magnets that can be put back into the magnet supply chain to reduce the reliance on traditional mining methods and overseas sources," says Ahmad Ghahreman, co-founder and CEO of Cyclic Materials. "With the extension of our partnership with Vac, we're collectively building more momentum towards our goal of building a North American supply chain. Vac brings not only a reliable source of raw materials for extraction but also decades of expertise in rare earth magnet technology. Together we are making the circular economy a reality."

"We are pleased to expand our partnership with Cyclic Materials to further support the circular economy for critical materials essential to the energy transition," says Erik Eschen, CEO of Vac. "The addition of this new contract for our South Carolina facility strengthens our ability to localize the recovery and reintegration of REEs back into our production. By continuing to leverage Cyclic Materials' innovative recycling processes alongside our advanced magnet manufacturing, we are collectively ensuring a sustainable and high-purity feedstock for high-performance magnets to meet current and future industrial demand."

Cyclic Materials raised $57 million in its Series B equity round last year, backed by global industry leaders including Microsoft, Amazon, Hitachi Ventures, BMW i Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover's lnMotion fund and specialized funds such as Energy Impact Partners, ArcTern Ventures and Fifth Wall.

Earlier this year, the company announced its move into the U.S. with its plans to open a facility in Mesa, Arizona, and plans to establish operations in Europe in the future. The company says the new facility will use its proprietary MagCycle process and will be its first global REE recycling operation focused on separating permanent magnets from end-of-life products.

Established in 2021, Cyclic Materials says its proprietary technologies are capable of recovering critical raw materials from end-of-life electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines and data center electronic waste. In addition to Vac, the company says it has formed strategic partnerships with Solvay, Vattenfall and Synetiq to recycle magnets containing REEs and establish a circular supply chain.