Cyclic Materials, a recycling company supported by BMW and others, has signed a multi-year contract to supply recycled copper recovered from electric motors to the raw materials company Glencore.
Under the newly signed supply agreement, Cyclic Materials will provide an unspecified amount of high-quality copper, which is sourced from recycled electronic scrap. Glencore then plans to use the copper for cathodes to be used in new end-products.
The two companies point out the benefits in a press release, of which there are several: In addition to improving supply chain resilience and sustainability, Cyclic Materials writes: “Recycling and reusing valuable materials like copper, as opposed to discarding the hidden sources of the material in electronic waste and industrial byproducts, helps to offset the footprint of resource extraction.”
“We are excited to be partnering with Glencore on the recycling of copper materials. This is a significant milestone in establishing key partners to purchase our recycled materials and close the loop for all critical materials we will produce,” said Ahmad Ghahreman, co-founder and CEO of Cyclic Materials. “We’re eager to further partner with Glencore and expand our offtake agreements for the primary materials we will recover, prior to ramping up our operations to global commercial scale, opening new facilities in the US and in Europe to better serve our partners where they are.”
“We share Cyclic Materials’ vision to create a circular supply chain for the materials required for the energy transition,” said Kunal Sinha, global head of recycling at Glencore. “Adding Cyclic Materials as a partner broadens the scope of our recycling activities in this field as we will now receive copper materials from electric motors, in addition to other metals we already recycle such as battery materials. We see Cyclic Materials filling a critical gap in the market with their focus on rare earth recovery, a much-needed solution to further drive sustainability in critical materials.”
