A new rare earth recycling plant in Arizona could create another domestic source of materials needed for EV motors, wind turbines, and a long list of other products.
Cyclic Materials has opened its first commercial-scale rare earth magnet recycling facility in Mesa. The plant can process up to 25,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing end-of-life products annually.
The company hasn’t specified which products are being processed at the facility, but it signed a huge deal with electronics recycler ERI in July. Its technology is designed to mechanically separate magnets from discarded equipment and recover materials for return to US manufacturing.
That matters to the EV and renewable energy industries because rare-earth permanent magnets are used in many EV traction motors and wind turbine generators. They’re also found in electronics, robotics, industrial equipment, AI hardware, and defense applications.
The Mesa plant is the first commercial-scale deployment of Cyclic’s proprietary MagCycle technology. It produces a rare earth magnet concentrate called Mag-Xtract, along with copper, aluminum, and steel.
More than 7,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing material have already been delivered to the facility, according to Cyclic, and processing is underway. The company expects to make its first commercial shipments to US customers later this month.
“This facility delivers new capacity for the US to keep resource-rich products here and build a domestic rare earth supply,” said Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO and founder of Cyclic Materials. “Cyclic is quickly closing gaps in the domestic supply chain as we expedite our rare earth and critical mineral infrastructure development in the US.”
Cyclic says global demand for rare earth elements is projected to triple by 2035, driven by the automotive, energy, AI, robotics, electronics, and defense sectors. At the same time, the rare earth supply chain remains heavily concentrated in China, leaving manufacturers vulnerable to trade restrictions and other geopolitical disruptions.
Recycling can supplement newly mined supplies by recovering valuable materials from products that have reached the end of their useful lives. For EV and renewable energy manufacturers, that could eventually mean another US source of materials used to make motors and generators.
Cyclic completed the Mesa facility 17 months after announcing it. The company is also developing a recycling campus in South Carolina, scheduled to open in 2028, that will combine magnet recovery and rare earth refining at a single site.
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Facts Only
* Cyclic Materials opened its first commercial-scale rare earth magnet recycling facility in Mesa.
* The facility can process up to 25,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing end-of-life products annually.
* The company signed a deal with electronics recycler ERI in July.
* The technology mechanically separates magnets from discarded equipment and recovers materials for U.S. manufacturing.
* The facility produces a rare earth magnet concentrate named Mag-Xtract, along with copper, aluminum, and steel.
* More than 7,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing material have been delivered to the facility.
* The company expects to make its first commercial shipments to U.S. customers later this month.
* The CEO stated the facility delivers new capacity for the U.S. to build a domestic rare earth supply.
* Global demand for rare earth elements is projected to triple by 2035 across automotive, energy, AI, robotics, electronics, and defense sectors.
* Cyclic Materials is developing a recycling campus in South Carolina, scheduled to open in 2028.
Executive Summary
A new rare earth magnet recycling facility, Cyclic Materials' first commercial-scale operation, is located in Mesa, Arizona. The plant can process up to 25,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing end-of-life products annually. The company uses proprietary technology to mechanically separate magnets and recover materials for return to U.S. manufacturing. This capability is relevant to the EV and renewable energy sectors, as rare-earth permanent magnets are essential components in these products, as well as electronics, robotics, and defense applications.
The facility produces a rare earth magnet concentrate called Mag-Xtract, along with copper, aluminum, and steel. To date, more than 7,000 metric tons of magnet-bearing material have been delivered to the facility for processing. Cyclic Materials aims to establish a domestic rare earth supply chain by creating this recycling capacity.
The demand for rare earth elements is projected to triple by 2035, driven by growth in automotive, energy, AI, robotics, electronics, and defense sectors. Current supply chains remain heavily concentrated in China, creating vulnerability due to geopolitical risks. Recycling offers a way to supplement newly mined supplies by recovering valuable materials from end-of-life products, potentially providing an additional U.S. source for materials used in motors and generators. Cyclic Materials is developing a recycling campus in South Carolina, slated to open in 2028.
Full Take
The narrative positions domestic rare earth recycling as a direct strategic response to geopolitical concentration risks and soaring global demand, framing the operation as essential infrastructure building rather than simple waste processing. The core tension lies between concentrated external supply chains and the potential for circular economy solutions to mitigate supply vulnerability. The transition from reliance on primary mining to material recovery introduces complexity concerning resource security, technological feasibility at scale, and the necessary regulatory framework to integrate recycled materials effectively into high-specification manufacturing streams like EV motors.
The emphasis on closing gaps in the domestic supply chain suggests an underlying concern about external dependencies, which is amplified by projections of tripling demand by 2035. The pattern observed is the deployment of novel technology specifically targeted at de-risking critical material flows. However, this narrative risks becoming a distraction if the practical logistical and environmental costs of establishing this new infrastructure are ignored. The implication is that technological innovation alone can solve geopolitical supply chain problems; the analysis must question whether recycling capacity addresses both the physical flow of materials and the political economy of resource extraction.
Bridge questions: What are the specific material recovery efficiencies achieved by MagCycle technology compared to primary mining, and what regulatory hurdles exist for classifying recycled concentrates as equivalent to mined raw materials? How will the integration of this new supply into existing U.S. manufacturing capacity be managed across various industry standards?