Phoenix Tailings, an innovative startup, is tackling a significant challenge in the global energy transition by extracting rare earth metals and other critical materials from mining waste. These metals, including copper, nickel, zinc, and rare earth elements, are essential for technologies like wind turbines, electric vehicles, and solar panels. As demand for these materials surges, the U.S. faces a reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China, which currently controls a large portion of the global rare earth refining market.

Founded by MIT alumni, Phoenix Tailings is scaling up a proprietary process to harvest valuable materials from mining waste. The company uses water and recyclable solvents to isolate oxidized metals, then applies heat and electricity to extract rare earth elements and nickel. Their pilot production facility in Woburn, Massachusetts, is the only site in the world producing rare earth metals without toxic byproducts or carbon emissions. The process relies on renewable energy to offset the electricity used in production.

By 2026, Phoenix Tailings plans to produce over 3,000 tons of metals, contributing to approximately 7% of the U.S.’s total rare earth production. The startup is expanding its capabilities with support from the Department of Energy, aiming to increase the range of metals it can produce and build a second production facility.

For the team, including MIT graduates Tomás Villalón, Michelle Chao, Nick Myers, and Anthony Balladon, this venture has significant geopolitical and environmental implications. As Villalón notes, ensuring domestic production of critical materials would reduce dependence on foreign monopolies and enable more sustainable extraction methods.

Villalón’s interest in materials science began during his time at MIT, where he developed a passion for sustainable metallurgy. After a pivotal conversation with Myers in 2018, the two decided to launch the startup. They were soon joined by Chao, an MIT classmate, and Balladon, leading to the creation of a novel process for extracting rare earth metals from mining waste. The process focuses on high purity and minimal waste, ensuring the sustainable production of materials needed for future technologies.

Phoenix Tailings’ Woburn facility currently produces several rare earth elements like neodymium and dysprosium, which are critical for producing high-performance magnets used in clean energy applications. The company has already secured two grants from the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E program, totaling over $2 million, to expand its capabilities and develop new methods for extracting other vital materials like nickel and magnesium, which are crucial for clean energy storage solutions.

The company aims to address the vast amount of mining waste generated annually—approximately 1.8 billion tons in the U.S.—by adapting its process to work with a wide range of ore types and waste materials. Phoenix Tailings is committed to providing an environmentally compliant and economically viable solution for producing critical metals, supporting the U.S. in its transition to a cleaner, more sustainable energy future