Cyclic opens magnet materials recycling plant in Canada

Toronto-based Cyclic Materials has opened its Hub100 plant in Kingston, Ontario, the first “scaled version” of Cyclic’s REEPure hydrometallurgical rare earth magnet materials recovery technology.

The system has a designed capacity to recycle 100 metric tons of magnetic material per year, producing recycled mixed rare earth oxides (rMREO) that can be reused in the rare earth magnet supply chain, as well as nickel and cobalt hydroxides.

"The opening of Hub100 marks a significant milestone in our company's journey,” Cyclic co-founder and CEO Ahmad Ghahreman says. “This successful scaling up of our technology emphasizes our commitment to growth and signifies our pursuit of innovation.

“The operation of this plant will allow us to continue learning and filling design criteria for full commercial scale of our REEPure technology while producing revenue-generating products. This is a crucial step toward building a domestic supply chain of rMREO in North America and growing our network of facilities to collect and recycle products containing rare earth magnets.”

Cyclic Materials, founded in 2021, is focused on developing technologies that are capable of economically, sustainably and domestically transforming end-of-life products into valuable raw materials. The firm says recycling permanent magnet metals achieves significant environmental benefits compared with mining processes, including a reduced carbon footprint and water usage.

The Canadian firm, which plans to place facilities across North America, describes itself as one of the first companies to produce MREO outside of China, with one of its goals being to reduce reliance from China for these materials.

Rare earth oxides Cyclic recovers can be used in applications including the production of electric vehicles, wind turbines and appliance and consumer electronics motors.

“It is exciting for us to see Cyclic Materials continuing its growth in Kingston,” says Abdul Razak Jendi of the Kingston Economic Development Corp. “The technology, expertise and vision are a testament to the ecosystem Kingston has been nurturing over the years. Kingston continues to prove itself on the domestic and global fronts as a cleantech center for technology development and commercialization.”