Rare Earth Exchanges

DoD Awards $5.1M for Rare Earth Recovery Venture

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Highlights

  • The Department of Defense granted REEcycle $5.1 million to develop a demonstration facility for recovering critical rare earth elements from electronic waste.
  • REEcycle’s proprietary technology can extract over 98% of key rare earth elements.
  • Supports national defense and clean energy technologies.
  • The company aims to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign rare earth sources.
  • Aims to create a sustainable domestic supply chain.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has awarded REEcycle $5.1 million through Title III of the Defense Production Act (DPA) to enhance domestic rare earth element (REE) recovery from recycled electronic waste.

The Grant

The grant will help restart the demonstration facility and support the commissioning of a commercial plant with an annual production target of 50 tons of rare earth oxides. REEcycle’s proprietary technology recovers over 98% of critical elements—neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium—essential for manufacturing neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets used in defense applications such as missiles, electric motors, and drones.

This effort aligns with the 2024 National Defense Industrial Strategy’s goal of reducing reliance on foreign REE sources and building a resilient domestic supply chain. While this grant represents a step forward, significant challenges remain in catching up to China’s dominance of rare earths. China controls over 80% of global rare earth processing and has integrated its supply chain from mining to finished products.

The U.S. must overcome hurdles in scaling production, building downstream capabilities like metallization and magnet manufacturing, and fostering a competitive workforce for sustainable growth in this critical sector.

The grant underscores the urgency of addressing these challenges, but questions remain about whether efforts likeREEcycle’s can achieve sufficient scale and efficiency to rival China’s rare earth complex and meet national defense demands.

The Company

REEcycle is a company committed to creating sustainability by addressing critical supply chain issues in rare earth elements (REEs). These materials are essential for cutting-edge technologies, clean energy solutions, and advanced defense systems. By developing a dependable, renewable source of REEs through recycling, REEcycle aims to reduce uncertainty for industries heavily reliant on these critical elements.

The company’s journey began in 2012 at the University of Houston, where chemist Dr. Samarasekere identified the potential of recycling REEs after studying Department of Energy reports on critical materials for future energy use. In 2013, he discovered a chemical process capable of extracting 15 of the 17 rare earth elements from discarded electronic waste. REEcycle focused on neodymium and dysprosium, two of the most critical REEs for clean energy technologies, and they were identified by the DOE as having the highest supply risk.

 From 2014 to 2016, REEcycle gained national recognition, winning multiple awards, including top honors at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Clean Energy Prize Competition. Today, REEcycle is the only known recycling process capable of sustainably and safely recovering the highest amount of rare earth elements from electronic waste, offering a solution with minimal environmental impact.

By closing the loop on rare earth element usage, REEcycle addresses a pressing global need for sustainable resource management and supply chain security. This ensures a reliable source of REE for industries shaping the future.

In April 2022, REEcycle was acquired by REEgenerate, a subsidiary of Reach Resources. Reach Resources made this strategic investment to secure (opens in a new tab) the supply of rare earth elements (REE) and reduce sovereign risk.

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