Rare Earth Magnet Recycling: 5 Startups to Watch
Rare earth magnets are critical to EVs, wind turbines, electronics and industrial equipment. But with supply chains concentrated in a small number of countries, recycling is becoming an important part of the supply picture.
Today, less than 1% of rare earth magnets are estimated to be recycled globally, with most recycling focused on manufacturing scrap rather than end-of-life products.
Recycling technologies are evolving across waste collection, disassembly, long-loop recovery and direct magnet-to-magnet recycling, creating new pathways to recover more rare earth materials from end-of-life products. For a full breakdown of how these technologies work, read Recycling Rare Earth Magnets: From Collection to Recovery.
Startups are working across the recycling value chain, from collecting and processing magnet-rich waste to recovering rare earth elements and producing material for new magnets.
Here are five rare earth magnet recycling startups to watch.
Five rare earth magnet recycling startups to watch
The companies below are tackling different parts of the rare earth magnet recycling value chain, from feedstock collection and magnet recovery to direct recycling and rare earth separation.
Cyclic Materials is developing a closed-loop recycling system for rare earth magnets. Its technology recovers magnets from end-of-life products and processes them to recover rare earth elements for use in new materials. The company is also building supply networks to secure magnet-rich feedstock from products such as hard disk drives and other end-of-life equipment.
RarEarth recycles NdFeB magnets from the electric motors of end-of-life e-bikes and e-scooters. Its chemical process recovers NdFeB alloy that magnet producers can use to make new magnets, while also recovering the copper, aluminum and iron fractions from the motors.
MagREEsource develops a hydrogen-based process for recycling NdFeB magnets. Its technology uses hydrogen to transform used magnets into reusable magnetic powder while preserving the alloy composition. The powder can then be used to manufacture new magnets, creating a short-loop recycling pathway with fewer processing steps.
ReElement Technologies develops rare earth separation and refining technologies based on chromatography. Its processes can recover and refine rare earth elements from recycled permanent magnets, magnet manufacturing waste and other feedstocks. The company’s modular approach is designed to support rare earth recovery across different feedstocks and processing scales.
Electrified Materials is focused on building the feedstock and processing infrastructure needed to recover critical materials from end-of-life products. Its work includes collecting and processing magnet-containing materials, helping separate valuable magnet material before it moves into downstream refining and recycling processes.
From waste to new magnets
These startups illustrate different stages emerging across the rare earth magnet recycling value chain. Together, these approaches could help increase the amount of rare earth material recovered from products that would otherwise be lost to waste streams.
| Stage | What it involves | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Collection & pre-processing | Securing magnet-rich waste and preparing it for recovery | Electrified Materials, Cyclic Materials |
| Magnet recovery | Extracting magnets from end-of-life products | Cyclic Materials, RarEarth |
| Direct recycling | Turning used magnet material into feedstock for new magnets | RarEarth, MagREEsource |
| Rare earth recovery | Separating and refining rare earth elements | ReElement Technologies, Cyclic Materials |
Explore the market
These five startups are only part of the growing rare earth magnet recycling landscape.
Explore companies, funding activity and market developments across the sector on the Net0 Platform.
Frequently asked questions
Part of Net Zero Insights’ rare earth magnet recycling coverage. Funding figures from the Net0 Platform, as of October 2026.
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