Home

Phoenix Tailings Selected to Receive $1.6 Million in Federal Funding for Technology to Extract Critical Minerals From Wastewater

via Business Wire

Funding Part of Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program to eliminate waste of essential minerals and increase domestic resiliency

Phoenix Tailings announced that it has been selected to receive $1.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of the Realize Energy-rich Compound Opportunities Valorizing Extraction from Refuse waters (RECOVER) program, which aims to reduce American dependence on critical mineral imports by establishing new, secure domestic supply chains.

This project is an important step in our work to extract critical materials from non-conventional sources, ultimately supplying feedstock for our commercial metallization operations and advancing a fully domestic, end-to-end critical metals supply chain.

As part of this initiative, Phoenix Tailings is developing specialized chemical compounds (“ligands”) that form temperature-stable, volatile complexes with critical minerals in dilute brine streams. These ligands can selectively capture valuable minerals, such as rare earths and other critical metals, even when they are present at very low concentrations in wastewater from the oil, gas, and mining industries. This approach enables a novel separation pathway that can help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign supplies of strategic critical minerals.

This funding advances Phoenix Tailings’ strategy to build a stable, circular rare earths supply chain, from tailings and other non-conventional resources all the way to finished metal. By pairing flexible extraction and separation technologies with modular metallization cells, Phoenix is building a scalable platform for reliable, domestic critical metal supply that underpins the next generation of advanced manufacturing and technology growth. Notably, Phoenix operates with zero reliance on Chinese inputs, equipment, or technology, helping to secure a resilient, independent U.S. and allied critical metals ecosystem.

“Phoenix Tailings is delivering metal to customers today as one of the top producers in the sector. At the same time, our researchers are continuing to develop technology to make America’s critical minerals supply chain stronger, faster, and more competitive. This funding is a powerful continuation of our extraction capabilities to unlock unconventional sources of materials,” said Nick Myers, co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Tailings.

We are honored to deepen our partnership with ARPA-E as we strengthen America’s resource independence and transform how critical minerals are recovered and produced.

For additional information about Phoenix Tailings, please visit phoenixtailings.com.

About Phoenix Tailings

Phoenix Tailings is a U.S.-based rare earth metals production company that aims to create a stable, circular rare earths supply chain from tailings to metal. The company currently operates domestic refining facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and ships final metal products globally. The company has developed innovative technology that enables the economic and safe processing of rare earth elements into final metals and metal alloys. The company has support from world-class investors, partners, and agencies including IQT, Envisioning Partners, Builders Vision, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Techstars, and Presidio, the venture arm of Sumitomo Corporation, and several other key investors.

Contacts