Magnet Recycling Technology
Facts checked against sources on . How we check facts.
Rare earth magnets are recycled by two technical routes: a short loop that turns scrap magnets into powder for new magnets, and a long loop that dissolves them and recovers separated oxides. The best-documented short-loop process is hydrogen processing of magnet scrap, which HyProMag says breaks magnets into powder at atmospheric pressure and room temperature and needs 88% less energy than making magnets from primary sources. Most announced capacity is a plan, not output: SMM notes that disclosed figures are mostly design capacities or long-term targets.
88%
less energy than primary magnet production, estimated by HyProMag for hydrogen processing of magnet scrap
Source: Physics World, March 2024
9.2 t
cumulative magnet powder produced at HyProMag's Birmingham plant as of April 2026
Source: SMM analysis, August 2026
94%
neodymium recovery reported for Proterial's recycling, though only a few hundred tonnes a year
Source: SMM analysis, August 2026
600 t
a year of initial mixed rare earth oxide capacity planned at Cyclic Materials' recycling park in the Carolinas
Source: SMM analysis, August 2026
What are the recycling routes?
The routes differ in what they produce and what they need from the scrap. The table summarises them with the companies and the status the sources report.
| Route | How it works | Company and site | Reported status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short loop: hydrogen processing | Hydrogen breaks magnet scrap into powder; the powder is demagnetised, sieved and reprocessed into alloy or new magnets | HyProMag, Tyseley (Birmingham, UK) | First powder June 2025; opened January 2026; 100 t a year on a single shift |
| Short loop: hydrogen processing | As above, in the US and Germany | HyProMag USA (Dallas-Fort Worth) and Pforzheim (Germany) | US plant about 750 t a year with first production targeted for 2027; Pforzheim permitted for 750 t a year |
| Short loop: powder metallurgy | Recycled powder is blended back into sintered NdFeB, the company says | Noveon Magnetics, San Marcos, Texas | Nidec offtake signed February 2025; capacity not stated |
| Long loop: hydrometallurgy | Magnets are dissolved and rare earths recovered as mixed or separated oxides | Cyclic Materials (McBee park, Carolinas; pilot in Kingston) | $82 million park announced January 2026: 600 t a year of mixed oxide, 1,800 t long term; pilot overall recovery rate reported at 41% |
| Long loop: hydrometallurgy | As above, with 99.5% oxides | Ionic Technologies, Belfast | Expanding to 400 t a year with UK DRIVE35 funding |
| Long loop: chromatography | Ligand-assisted chromatography to separate elements | ReElement Technologies, Indiana | Department of War funded expansion; no capacity stated |
| Direct use of recycled feed | Recycled rare earths processed at Mountain Pass into feedstock for the Independence plant | MP Materials with Apple | 100% recycled-content magnets from 2027; Apple prepaid $200 million of a $500 million collaboration |
Sources: SMM analysis (31 August 2026) and Physics World (11 March 2024). Company capacities are plans or design figures; the HyProMag energy saving is a company estimate.
How does hydrogen processing work?
Hydrogen processing of magnet scrap exposes the scrap to hydrogen gas, which makes the magnet alloy swell and crumble into a powder while coatings and other parts separate from it. The powder is demagnetised and sieved to remove impurities, then reprocessed. At HyProMag a robot finds the motor in a hard disk drive, which is cut out and treated; the company says loading to powder removal can take as little as four hours and the pilot line handles up to two tonnes of scrap per run. HyProMag co-founder Allan Walton argues that large-scale recycling is hard without an efficient separation step like this.
What limits the technology?
- Collection. Magnets are embedded in motors and devices that are hard to take apart, which is why the projects described here start from hard drives and magnet production scrap. The economics and collection are on the magnet recycling economics page.
- Output versus capacity. SMM notes that most capacity figures are design capacities or long-term targets, and that a figure of about 20% of global recycled rare earth production by 2030 for the US is an analyst estimate, not an MP Materials disclosure.
Frequently asked questions
How are rare earth magnets recycled?
Rare earth magnets are recycled by a short loop that breaks scrap into powder with hydrogen for reuse in new magnets, or a long loop that dissolves them and recovers separated oxides by hydrometallurgy. Direct reuse of recycled powder is also being developed.
What is hydrogen processing of magnet scrap?
Hydrogen processing of magnet scrap is a method that exposes magnet scrap to hydrogen gas so the alloy crumbles into a powder that can be demagnetised, sieved and reused. HyProMag says it works at atmospheric pressure and room temperature and uses 88% less energy than primary production.
Which companies recycle rare earth magnets?
Companies include HyProMag in the UK, Germany and the US, Noveon Magnetics in Texas, Cyclic Materials in the Carolinas, Ionic Technologies in Belfast, ReElement Technologies in Indiana, and MP Materials with Apple. Most capacities are plans rather than output.
Can recycled magnets match new magnets?
Companies claim they can. Noveon says recycled powder can be blended fully back into sintered neodymium magnets, and MP Materials plans magnets from 100% recycled material for Apple from 2027, but these are company claims and the output had not been shown at scale in the sources used.
Sources
Read on October 12, 2026. Figures on this page come from these documents; where a number is an estimate, the source says so.
