Cyclic Materials Announces Capacity to Recycle Wind Turbine Generators and MRI Machines

The advanced metals recycling company now accepts two new feedstock streams to recover rare earth elements and other critical metals

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cyclic Materials, an advanced metals recycling company building a circular supply chain for rare earth elements and other critical metals, has expanded its operations to accept two new feedstock streams: wind turbine generators and MRI machines. Through its strong partnership network, Cyclic has already sourced 37 MW capacity of wind turbine generators containing permanent magnets, and 116,000 pounds of MRI machines. This development marks a strategic expansion for the company beyond automotive components and other permanent magnet-containing products into other end-of-life products.

Cyclic Materials’ proprietary Mag-Xtract™ and hydrometallurgy technologies are the first in the world with the capacity to isolate magnets from any end-of-life product and then convert this magnet feedstock to mixed rare earth oxides, cobalt-nickel hydroxides and other raw materials. Both wind turbine generators and MRI machines contain valuable materials such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium and copper. While the recycling of metals such as aluminum, steel and copper in wind turbines is common, current recycling methods are unable to recover valuable rare earth elements (REEs) found in the generators, the largest of which can contain close to 10 metric tonnes of REEs. These elements are essential components in the development of electric vehicles, smartphones and other technologies.

“MRIs and wind turbines bring incredible opportunities to recover critical commodities essential to the energy transition,” said Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO and co-founder of Cyclic Materials. “Manufacturers, developers and stakeholders across metals supply chains must recognize the importance of creating a circular supply chain—not only to reduce dependence on offshore sources and increase resilience, but to slash the environmental impact of the industry. Our magnet-agnostic recycling technology extracts valuable critical metals from end-of-life products and feeds these commodities back into North American and European supply chains.”

Operating from its pilot facility in Kingston, ON, Cyclic Materials is processing feedstock at a capacity of 8,000 metric tonnes per year. The company currently seeks additional sources for end-of-life wind turbine generators, MRI machines and other materials such as automotive parts and manufacturing waste. In the coming years, Cyclic Materials is expanding its presence with multiple facilities in North America and Europe.

About Cyclic Materials:

Founded in 2021, Cyclic Materials is creating a circular supply chain for rare earth elements and other materials critical to electrification. Through its innovative technology, the company economically, sustainably and domestically transforms end-of-life products into valuable raw materials that are essential to the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and motors for the electronics we use in our daily lives.

In April 2023, Cyclic Materials closed an oversubscribed Series A Funding of $27M led by BMW i Ventures and Energy Impact Partners (EIP), with participation from Fifth Wall, Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC), and seed investor Planetary Capital. The company also received $3M from the Sustainable Development Technology Council of Canada. To learn more about Cyclic Materials, visit cyclicmaterials.earth.