ERI, Cyclic Materials partner to recover and recycle rare earths from e-waste 

Electronics recycler ERI and rare earths recycling company Cyclic Materials announced Tuesday they intend to form “one of the largest rare earth recovery ecosystems in the US” by combining ERI’s nationwide collection network with Cyclic Materials’ commercial rare earth recovery and refining technologies to process high volume magnet-containing products.  

Initial commercialization includes multiple product categories that will create one of the largest commercial rare earth recycling feedstock portfolios in North America, the companies said.  

End-of-life electronics represent one of the largest untapped sources of rare earths and critical minerals in the world, yet many of these products are often discarded, and the critical materials within them are lost to waste streams.  

Cyclic Materials said its rare earth recycling will provide a domestic supply of rare earths that supports the manufacturing sector, increases national security, and enables growth across AI, defense, automotive and other major industries. 

ERI, which recycles more than one million pounds of electronic waste every day, will leverage its global collection network and eight U.S.-based recycling centers to pre-process and send materials containing rare earth magnets and other critical materials to Cyclic Materials for rare earth recovery.  

Cyclic Materials said it will also recover other critical materials such as copper and aluminum in its process. Feedstock will be sent primarily to  its Arizona operations, where the company has a facility capable of processing up to 25,000 tonnes of end-of-life components annually in the US. 

In January, Cyclic Materials said it is investing more than $82 million to establish a rare earth recycling campus in McBee, South Carolina. The new site would have a processing capacity of 2,000 tonnes of magnet material per annum, with a planned expansion to 6,000 tonnes. 

Under the partnership, Cyclic Materials and ERI will also jointly pursue RFPs for recycling and recovery of critical materials, as well as other commercial and government opportunities that support the development of circular supply chains for critical materials in the U.S. 

“As one of the world’s largest electronics recyclers, ERI processes an immense volume of products annually, and this partnership will transform that volume into an impactful supply of rare earths for the U.S.,” Cyclic Materials CEO Ahmad Ghahreman said in a news release. 

 “Together we are creating a new supply of rare earths by unlocking materials already in circulation and recirculating them into the supply chain, which derisks foreign trade tensions, increases supply chain resilience, and strengthens national security.” 

 “Cyclic’s innovative technology and state-of-the-art facility provide commercial capabilities that make the circularity of heavy rare earth elements more accessible than ever before,” ERI CEO John Shegerian added.