Cyclic Materials has closed an oversubscribed $75 million Series C equity round to scale its rare earths recycling operations across the United States and Europe while expanding its research and development capabilities in Canada. The funding round was led by accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc., with continued support from existing shareholders and new participation from the Canada Growth Fund.
The investment brings Cyclic Materials' total equity funding to over $162 million, marking a major milestone as the company accelerates commercial deployment and prepares for global expansion. The capital will primarily support the rapid buildout of rare earths recycling infrastructure across the US, creating a resilient, locally sourced supply of critical materials increasingly demanded by AI data centers, robotics, defense systems, and next-generation industrial applications.
Rare earth elements are essential ingredients in everything from electric motors to advanced magnets used in AI servers and defense equipment. The problem? Most of these materials currently come from outside Western countries, creating supply chain vulnerabilities for critical industries.
Recycling old magnets and production waste offers the fastest path to producing these materials domestically. It also provides access to heavy rare earth elements, which are much harder to find in Western mining deposits. Cyclic Materials operates a two-stage recycling technology that extracts rare earth elements from discarded products and manufacturing waste, turning what would be trash into valuable raw materials.
The approach serves a dual purpose: it creates a new source of supply while reducing waste. The recovered materials support growing demand from AI, robotics, defense, electric vehicles, and other advanced manufacturing sectors.
The Series C funding targets markets where demand and policy momentum are accelerating, enabling the build-out of circular supply chains in North America and Europe. Investment priorities balance immediate facility deployment with continued research at the Kingston Centre of Excellence to optimize process efficiency for future rollouts.
While specific allocations remain undisclosed, the strategy reflects a dual focus: executing rapid expansion in high-priority regions while maintaining technology leadership as rare earths climb international policy agendas. The Kingston facility will strengthen integration with magnet manufacturers and support team expansion across key geographies.
According to Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO and founder of Cyclic Materials, the investment reflects growing urgency around securing rare earths supply chains. "The recycling of EOL products for magnet REEs recovery is the fastest way to create a resilient supply of these critical metals in Western countries, and likely the only viable source of heavy rare earths outside China," he said.
Cyclic Materials was founded in October 2021 by Ahmad Ghahreman, a mining expert and university professor with deep experience in materials processing. During the COVID period, he began experimenting with ways to separate permanent magnets from end-of-life products, initially running early tests in his own garage using drone motors.
With less than 1% of rare earth elements being recycled globally, growing international tensions, and surging demand for permanent magnets, Cyclic's mission is to establish a local, resilient supply for rare earth elements. Ahmad brought together a small team of industry and technology experts to industrialize those early breakthroughs and build a scalable, circular solution for rare earth magnet recycling.
The company's technology now recovers rare earth elements from discarded electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, MRI machines, and data center electronic waste. Following its commercial demonstration phase, which processed 100 tonnes of magnet concentrate from 8,000 tonnes of materials, Cyclic is scaling its operations globally. The Mesa spoke will have the capacity to process 25,000 tonnes of materials, while the Kingston Hub will handle 500 tonnes of magnet concentrate.
The company is scaling its proprietary MagCycleâ„ and REEPureâ„ processes, which efficiently extract rare earth elements from permanent magnets found in various industrial and consumer products. The technology offers measurable advantages compared to traditional mining: a 61.2% reduction in carbon footprint, water use at just 5% of mining requirements, and recovery rates exceeding 98%. Perhaps most importantly, recycling facilities can be built and operational years faster than new mines, providing a quicker route to securing critical materials.
The company is expanding operations across North America, Europe, and Asia. Mesa, Arizona hosts its first commercial-scale processing facility, while Kingston, Ontario serves as both a research center and a larger-scale production site.
T. Rowe Price's involvement signals confidence in the commercial viability of rare earths recycling. "As demand for rare earth elements accelerates across advanced manufacturing, electrification, AI and robotics, Cyclic Materials is addressing a critical supply challenge with a scalable and commercially grounded solution," said Vineet Khanna, investment analyst at T. Rowe Price.
Beyond capital, T. Rowe Price brings strong credibility and a long-term perspective in backing companies that scale proven industrial technologies globally. Their leadership in this round reinforces confidence in the company's ability to deploy rare earth recycling infrastructure efficiently and consistently across regions. As a lead investor, their involvement sends a strong signal to customers, partners, and policymakers that Cyclic's model is scalable, credible, and ready for global execution.
Canada Growth Fund's participation reflects national interest in developing critical minerals processing capabilities. The fund sees the investment as supporting Canada's position in a sector important to the country's economic future while accelerating commercialization of domestically developed technology.
Since closing its previous funding round, Cyclic Materials has moved quickly. In spring 2025, the company started operations at its first facility in Mesa, Arizona, designed to supply US manufacturers with domestic rare earths. This facility works in tandem with the research and production hub in Kingston, Ontario.
The company has also secured several important partnerships. A recent 10-year exclusive agreement with VACUUMSCHMELZE commits Cyclic Materials to recycling 100% of magnet production byproducts from the company's new South Carolina facility. Another partnership with Lime Micromobility adds to a network of several hundred companies supplying end-of-life materials for recycling.
These developments position Cyclic Materials as a key supplier for industries undergoing rapid transformation driven by AI, defense, and robotics applications. The company aims to deliver rare earth materials locally through what it describes as a secure and fast-moving supply chain.
The company's work has earned recognition from MIT Tech Review, which named it among the Top 10 Climate Tech Companies to Watch in 2025. Additional recognition has come from Fortune Change the World, Fast Company Most Innovative, and Next Big Thing in Tech.
