Highlights
- MIT alumni-founded startup Phoenix Tailings develops a groundbreaking zero-waste metallurgy process to extract critical metals from mining waste without toxic byproducts.
- The company aims to establish a fully domestic, sustainable supply chain for rare earth metals, challenging China's 97% global processing monopoly.
- With over $76 million in venture funding and strategic partnerships, Phoenix Tailings plans to scale to a 4,000 tpy refinery by decade's end.
- Potentially supplying 7% of U.S. rare earth output.
Phoenix Tailings was founded in 2018-2019 by a team of MIT alumni and scientists on a mission to revolutionize how critical metals are produced, as reported by Rare Earth Exchanges. Co-founders Tomás Villalón ’14 and Michelle Chao ’17 (both MIT materials science graduates), along with Nick Myers (opens in a new tab) and Anthony Balladon (opens in a new tab), started the company after recognizing the need for a sustainable domestic supply of rare earth elements. The idea took root when Villalón, inspired by MIT research in molten metal processing, crossed paths with Myers in 2018 and discussed U.S. dependence on foreign minerals, per MIT News (opens in a new tab). With an initial budget of just ~$7,000, the team began prototyping in a backyard using mining waste (“red sludge”) and proved they could extract valuable metals from it. The startup emerged as an MIT spinoff, leveraging university mentorship – famed MIT professors Antoine Allanore (opens in a new tab) and Donald Sadoway (opens in a new tab) advised the project – and went through MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service and the NSF I-Corps program in its early days. This strong genesis, grounded in MIT innovation, set the stage for Phoenix Tailings’ cutting-edge approach to critical minerals.
Breakthrough Zero-Waste Technology
Phoenix Tailings has developed a proprietary zero-waste metallurgy process to extract rare earth metals and other critical materials from mining waste without producing toxic byproducts or carbon emissions, as cited by Rare Earth Exchanges (REEx).
Instead of relying on traditional solvent extraction (a 1950s-era technique that is “dirty” and largely mastered only in China), Phoenix uses an electrochemical extraction method. In practice, the company first uses water and recyclable solvents to gather oxidized metals from crushed tailings, then feeds the concentrate into a high-temperature molten salt reactor reports MITNews (opens in a new tab).
By heating the mixture to approximately 1,300°F and applying an electric current, Phoenix’s process directly electrowins pure metal onto electrodes, yielding separated rare earth metals with minimal waste left over, according to MIT News (opens in a new tab).
This is analogous to how MIT spinoff Boston Metal is decarbonizing steel, and indeed, Villalón’s experience there informed Phoenix’s approach. The key innovation is the integration of both separation and metallization in a single, streamlined process. The result is that Phoenix can produce final rare earth metals (not just oxides) in a cleaner manner, with no toxic tailings or direct CO2 emissions (all electricity can be sourced from renewable sources). Phoenix touts this as the first US-based commercial rare earth metal production with zero waste and a “circular” model, since it plans to eventually re-mine mining waste as feedstock rather than extract new ore.
Major Focus and Operations
Phoenix Tailings is on a mission to build an entirely domestic, waste-free supply chain for critical rare earth metals—like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—that power electric vehicles, wind turbines, electronics, and military systems. With China controlling up to 97% of global rare earth processing, Phoenix positions itself as both a commercial disruptor and a national security asset. By producing high-purity magnet metals in the U.S. without toxic waste, the company aims to give manufacturers and defense contractors a reliable, sustainable alternative to imported materials.
Operationally, Phoenix has rapidly scaled from a Massachusetts pilot to its new Exeter, New Hampshire, plant, which is expected to begin producing rare earth metals by mid-2025. The facility—America’s first standalone refinery capable of processing varied inputs like coal ash, e-waste, and mined concentrates—targets a capacity to match the annual rare earth demand of the entire U.S. defense sector. Looking ahead, Phoenix is eyeing a tenfold expansion with a 4,000 tpy refinery by decade’s end, which could account for 7% of total U.S. rare earth output. If realized, this would mark a critical leap toward rare earth self-sufficiency and geopolitical resilience.
Funding, Investors, and Partnerships
Although still a relatively young company (approximately six years old by 2025, as reported by REEx), Phoenix Tailings has garnered substantial financial backing and strategic support. The company closed a Series A round of about $10 million in August 2021, and in late 2024, it secured $43 million in Series B funding from a consortium of venture and industry investors—See REEx.
Notably, this Series B included the venture capital arms of BMW and Yamaha Motor, highlighting the interest of downstream manufacturers in securing rare earth supplies. Other participants in Phoenix’s funding have ranged from high-profile VCs (Envisioning Partners, M Power, Escape Velocity) to strategic partners like Sumitomo Corporation (through Presidio Ventures) and In-Q-Tel (the U.S. intelligence community’s venture arm) as reported (opens in a new tab) by the company last month.
In April 2025, Phoenix announced an additional $33 million extension to the Series B, bringing the total raised to $76 million. This capital infusion is being used to build out the new Exeter plant (a ~$13M project) and further R&D and engineering efforts, reports REEx. In total, Phoenix Tailings has raised on the order of $76+ million in venture funding to date, alongside significant non-dilutive support.
Government and institutional support have also been crucial reports REEx. Phoenix has won two ARPA-E grants (DOE) totaling over $2 million to develop its technology for extracting metals such as nickel, magnesium, and iron from waste in a carbon-neutral manner.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Department of Defense see promise in the company’s approach as a way to shore up critical mineral supply chains; Phoenix has been pursuing additional government loans and grants to accelerate scaling. At the state level, Massachusetts awarded Phoenix a $1.4 million grant in 2023 to expand its production line, underscoring the Commonwealth’s interest in clean manufacturing jobs and technological leadership in the rare earths sector. With this blend of VC money and public funding, Phoenix is expanding its team (still a small startup of only a few dozen employees – 33 by late 2024) and moving aggressively from pilot to commercial production. As of June 2025, the company is expected to surpass 50 employees soon.
For the growing list of available jobs and careers, see the REEx Forum (opens in a new tab).
The roster of Phoenix’s partners and customers further signals its momentum. The company has reported over $100 million in supply contracts signed with buyers (specific customers undisclosed) for its rare earth products. This likely includes domestic magnet manufacturers and defense suppliers eager to source U.S.-made materials. Phoenix is also backed by Greentown Labs (a cleantech incubator in MA) and was recognized in MIT’s entrepreneurial circles, which helped attract industry partnerships. Such early contracts and alliances will be critical for Phoenix to generate revenue as it scales, given that investors will be watching for offtake agreements to validate demand in the run-up to an eventual IPO.
Outlook and Upside in the Market
Phoenix Tailings is racing to redefine the rare earth industry with a bold, MIT-rooted vision: prove that zero-waste, U.S.-based refining can outcompete China and fast-track the company to a public offering by 2027–2028. Backed by ~$100 million in contracts and a planned 4,000 tpy production scale, Phoenix’s Exeter facility could meet all U.S. defense rare earth magnet needs and supply up to 7% of the national total. With no mining overhead, the startup bets on a capital-light, flexible sourcing model—processing tailings, scrap, and allied concentrates. But success hinges on scaling its clean-tech edge into cost-competitive volumes. If Phoenix hits its benchmarks, it could become a cornerstone of America’s rare earth independence and a poster child for sustainable critical mineral supply chains.
Phoenix Tailings is hiring across multiple functional areas. For the growing list of available jobs and careers, see the REEx Forum (opens in a new tab).
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