ReElement CEO signals the first circular system for recycled rare earths from magnets is in place.

One after the other, ReElement Technologies Corp. has been establishing all the links required to build a circular economy for rare earth magnets. Recently partnering with EDPR to recycle its wind turbines and reaffirming with USA Rare Earth LLC to purchase some of those recycled REEs, the company has now announced a deal with major U.S. auto manufacturers to recycle end-of-life EV motors and resell the materials to be made into new ones.

"We are excited to add this partnership to our rapidly growing roster of feedstock partners to ensure that there is a resilient and long-life supply of rare earth elements in the United States," said ReElement Technologies CEO Mark Jensen. "We have been working collaboratively with this partner for a little over a year and have been testing the products for recyclability. Today, we are proud to say that not only can we ensure that the circular economy for rare earths is online, but that it also can be done profitably, at high-purity, magnet-grade qualities and is scalable to meet the growing demands of energy transition."

Utilizing a patented technology developed in partnership with Purdue University, ReElement recovers critical minerals from recycled permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, as well as processing ore and coal waste streams, to create low-cost, sustainable, and circular sources of rare earths and battery materials.

First producing 99.5% pure neodymium oxide in June 2021 from end-of-life magnets, its portfolio of viably recycled rare earths has grown to include all the magnet metals, including praseodymium and dysprosium, with similarly 99.5% purity oxide form.

Further, its patented multi-modal chromatography technology can target the valuable metals and minerals found in lithium-ion batteries, recovering purities even higher at 99.96% lithium carbonate.

"It's an exciting start to 2024 for ReElement, and we are proud that we are leading in providing real solution to the refining bottleneck in the supply chain while catalyzing sustainability and circularity solutions," said Jensen. "The rare earth oxides we produce can feed the demand not only in the commercial market but also for high-value, defense applications to keep our country strong, safe and without the need to rely on foreign parties for such crucial applications."

As it builds each link in the very critical chain of rare earths for America, ReElement continues to establish the framework for true resource independence, alleviating the pressures of trusting that outside sources won't decide to upend our very way of life at any moment.