Canada-headquartered metals recycler Cyclic Materials has signed a collaboration agreement with SYNETIQ, a UK-headquartered vehicle salvage and recycling company, for the recycling of end-of-life electric motors containing rare earth elements. 

The motors to be supplied by SYNETIQ include hybrid and EV drive motors, as well as auxiliary motors found in all vehicles.

To help meet North American demand for domestic sources of mixed rare earth oxide, Cyclic Materials recently opened its Hub100 commercial demonstration plant in Kingston, Ontario, which employs the company’s proprietary hydrometallurgical technology, REEPure.

Cyclic’s Mag-Cycle and REEPure technologies separate magnets from products such as electric motors and then convert them into mixed rare earth oxides, cobalt-nickel hydroxides and other raw materials. Cyclic will process feedstock from SYNETIQ with Mag-Cycle and send it to the Hub100 plant for processing using REEPure technology.

“This agreement represents a notable step forward in our mission to advance sustainable solutions for rare earth recycling to drive the circular economy forward across the globe,” said Patrick Nee, Senior VP of Strategic Partnerships and co-founder of Cyclic Materials.

Source: Cyclic Materials