Highlights
- GMR receives bipartisan support for domestic vanadium production, addressing critical mineral supply gaps in defense and industrial sectors.
- Company recovers vanadium and molybdenum from spent petroleum catalysts, reducing U.S. dependence on foreign mineral sources.
- Aleon Metals subsidiary positioned as a strategic solution for sustainable metal recovery and critical mineral resilience.
Gladieux Metals Recycling (opens in a new tab) (GMR), a leading U.S. recycler of spent petroleum catalysts and producer of high-purity vanadium, received strong bipartisan backing from Senator Ted Cruz and Representative Randy Weber, who urged the Department of Defense to stockpile ferrovanadium and aerospace-grade vanadium pentoxide. Vanadium, designated a critical mineral by the U.S. Geological Survey, is essential to defense applications including jet engines, armor, and missile systems.
GMR’s proprietary hydrometallurgical process recovers vanadium and molybdenum from spent catalysts, helping to close the widening U.S. supply gap—domestic vanadium output met less than 30% of demand in 2024. With China and Russia controlling 70% of global vanadium supply, GMR positions itself as a vital domestic alternative, aligning sustainability with national security.
As a subsidiary of Aleon Metals (opens in a new tab), GMR aims to scale operations with federal support to reduce foreign dependence and reinforce critical mineral resilience.
Aleon Metals was founded in 1973. The company specializes in the recycling of catalyst and lithium-ion batteries, focusing on recovering critical metals for infrastructure and renewable energy. It operates through two main divisions: Gladieux Metals Recycling (GMR) (opens in a new tab) and Aleon Renewable Metals (ARM) (opens in a new tab).
According to CB Insights (opens in a new tab), they are a leading company in metal recovery, particularly for sustainable solutions in the energy and environmental sectors. According to LinkedIn (opens in a new tab), they are a technology leader in metal recovery.
Key Products
| Product Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Gladieux Metals Recycling | Recycles spent hydroprocessing catalysts from petroleum refineries to recover metals like cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, and vanadium for use in chemical and metallurgical applications. |
| Aleon Renewable Metals (ARM) | Processes end-of-life lithium-ion batteries to produce battery-grade materials, including nickel-cobalt alloys and alumina, for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. |
| Critical and Strategic Materials Production | Produces critical metals such as vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt, lithium, and manganese for various industrial applications, including steelmaking and battery production. |
| Spent Polymetallic Materials Collection and Recycling | Collects and recycles spent polymetallic materials, including catalysts and batteries, to recover valuable metals and support a circular economy. |
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