Cyclic Materials, a company specialising in advanced recycling of rare earth elements (REEs), has raised $53 million in an oversubscribed Series B funding round. The Canadian firm is focused on building a circular supply chain for rare earth materials, which are critical for technologies such as electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, and medical devices like MRI machines. The funding will accelerate the company’s international growth by developing rare earth recycling infrastructure in the US and Europe.
The Series B round was led by ArcTern Ventures, with new investments from BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, Hitachi Ventures, Zero Infinity Partners, Climate Investment, and Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund. Existing investors such as BMW i Ventures, Fifth Wall, Energy Impact Partners, and Planetary Technologies also contributed, bringing Cyclic Materials’ total equity raised to over $83 million.
This funding follows a $3.6 million grant from Natural Resources Canada, awarded to support the company’s commercial demonstration facility, known as Hub100. The facility is focused on producing high-purity rare earth elements from recycled magnet materials and is part of the company’s plan to scale operations globally.
Cyclic Materials CEO and Co-Founder Ahmad Ghahreman expressed excitement about the new funding and its potential impact. “We’re thrilled to partner with some of the world’s top sustainability-focused investors to scale our technology,” said Ghahreman. “This investment underscores confidence in our ability to create a circular economy for rare earth elements, a critical step in the clean energy transition.”
Rare earth materials are essential for many green technologies, including EVs and wind turbines, but traditional mining methods have a high environmental cost. Cyclic Materials offers a more sustainable solution by recovering REEs from end-of-life products, such as electric motors, industrial waste, and e-waste, which reduces the need for mining. Recycling rare earth magnets from these products offers significant environmental advantages, including a smaller carbon footprint and superior water efficiency compared to mining.
Marc Faucher, Managing Partner at ArcTern Ventures, said Cyclic Materials aligns with their investment strategy of backing companies that offer innovative solutions to sustainability challenges. “Cyclic Materials’ mission-driven approach to building a circular economy for rare earth metals provides a scalable decarbonisation solution. Their technology will contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is key to our impact-driven investments.”
As demand for REEs increases, so does the interest in companies that can provide sustainable alternatives to mining. Tobias Jahn, Partner at Hitachi Ventures, praised Cyclic Materials for its leadership in addressing the scarcity of rare earth elements, which are critical to the electrification of various technologies. “The opportunity to invest in companies like Cyclic Materials is rare, given the strength of their leadership and the growth potential of their proprietary extraction processes,” he said.
Founded in 2021, Cyclic Materials has forged strategic partnerships with major industry players such as Solvay, Vattenfall, and Synetiq. These collaborations have helped the company create a circular supply chain for rare earth magnets, positioning it at the forefront of the effort to recycle critical materials and contribute to the global clean energy transition. For more information visit www.hitachi-ventures.com and www.arcternventures.com