Phoenix Tailings begins producing rare-earth metal in New Hampshire

Phoenix Tailings, a Boston-area start-up, has begun producing rare-earth metal at a metal-making plant in Exeter, N.H., where two furnaces turn powder into rough ingots that the company says could be used in electric vehicle motors or military equipment. The company’s operation, about two months old and housed in a converted medical device plant, processes metric-ton bags of neodymium‑ and praseodymium‑containing powder from suppliers in the United States, South America and Australia.

The circuit occupies less than 15,000 square feet and the company says it is designed as a closed-loop system that generates no emissions other than those associated with its electricity use, a contrast the article draws with some Chinese techniques that release perfluorocarbons. The piece notes China refines more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, a dominance that analysts and officials describe as a concern.

Phoenix Tailings was founded in 2019 by Nick Myers and others. The company was reportedly valued at $189 million and came within weeks of bankruptcy in late 2024 before drawing new investor interest after Chinese export restrictions linked to U.S. tariffs; investors include the CIA’s venture capital fund In‑Q‑Tel and BMW’s venture arm.

Phoenix Tailings has received more than $6 million in federal funding, the article says, and counts mostly auto makers and a smaller number of U.S. defense contractors as customers. Mr.

Key Topics

Business, Phoenix Tailings, Exeter New Hampshire, Rare Earths, Neodymium, Mp Materials