40% of Rare Earth Magnet Supply Can Come From Recycling: Recyclekaro CEO

There are several types of rare earth metals present in electronic waste. We are currently extracting a few—such as neodymium oxide from Nd magnets used in EV motors and hard disk drives; rhodium from catalytic converters; and platinum and palladium.

Some other rare earths are embedded in components that require extremely high temperatures—ranging from 3,000°C to 10,000°C—to melt. To handle these, we are setting up a plasma furnace.

We also process various e-waste streams by dismantling them into plastic, iron, copper, aluminium, and base metals. The PCB portions are processed in a hot roll machine to remove components, leaving behind a plain board that is shredded into copper and fibre powder. Fibre is sold for packaging; copper is refined into ingots or plates.

The removed components are sorted by type—ICs, black/green chips, tantalum capacitors, etc.—using a database to identify their metal content. Once sorted into batches (say, 500 kg of black chips), they are heated in a furnace, shredded into powder, and processed through hydrometallurgy. This involves leaching, followed by solvent extraction in reactors. Metals such as gold, silver, and others are sequentially extracted, dried, and melted to form ingots.

As I mentioned, rare earth extraction requires very high temperatures. Plasma furnaces are essential, but no one in India currently manufactures the complete system. While plasma torches are available, the full setup—including chiller units, IGBT-based control systems, and water-cooled infrastructure—isn’t manufactured domestically. Importing such a furnace can cost over ₹20 crore, which is prohibitively expensive for most early-stage recyclers.

However, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed this technology in-house for biodegradable waste incineration. We have visited their facility and are now undertaking a technology transfer from BARC to build plasma furnaces locally at a much lower cost—about ₹5–6 crore per unit.

At present, no Indian recycler uses plasma furnaces specifically for rare earth extraction. While some may possess plasma torches, they are not used for this purpose. Controlling the torch temperature, integrating it with the cooling and control system, and maintaining water flow are complex tasks. These challenges are among the biggest bottlenecks for rare earth recycling in India.
Once the system is operational, the extraction process itself—from shredding to final metal recovery—takes about 5–6 days.

Old hard drives have motors with neodymium magnets—that’s where we began our R&D. As a company with 16 years of experience, we had access to many such magnets. We successfully extracted Nd oxide from them.
Similarly, many other components in electronics contain rare earth metals. For example, server and laptop motherboards have parts that contain rare earths. India does have a large volume of such waste that can be tapped.

I believe about 40% of India’s rare earth metal demand can be met through recycling. Currently, 60–70% of rare earths are imported from China.
Neodymium is used in electric motors, hard drives, and speakers. Yttrium is used in LED lights and lasers—LED screen televisions are a good source. Europium is found in colour displays like TVs and monitors, as well as in blue LED lights. Terbium is used in ICs and solid-state devices. Dysprosium is present in wind turbine magnets. All of these can be recovered from the electronic waste already circulating in the country and then fed back into the manufacturing chain.

On the policy front, the government has been active—amending e-waste and battery rules, and launching the EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) portal. This portal brings visibility into recycling targets and recycler capabilities.

However, operationally, many recyclers lack the expertise to go beyond dismantling and into refining. Hydrometallurgy is a complex process where efficiency is critical. We began at 35% metal recovery efficiency; after three years of R&D, we reached 95%.

With e-waste and batteries priced based on LME rates, margins are tight—so process efficiency becomes the only lever. Currently, the e-waste and battery management rules do not specifically support rare earth recovery. While EPR helps, there are cost disputes. For instance, recyclers earn ₹22/kg in recycling credits, but producers want to pay only ₹4/kg—this makes it unviable for recyclers.

To scale up, India needs to create a reverse logistics system for high-value components. But major barriers remain: technological gaps, lack of component traceability, and variable recovery efficiency. While BARC provides the core plasma furnace tech, recyclers must still develop their own metal extraction processes.

Key policy priorities should include:
- Making OEMs accountable for end-of-life product take-back
- Expanding recycling infrastructure via collaborations with BARC
- Investing in in-house R&D labs to boost recovery efficiency
- Building traceable systems like battery passports
- Offering targeted incentives to recyclers

Our own R&D team—22 members strong, including PhDs and IIT-trained metallurgists—was instrumental in boosting our recovery efficiency. Building such internal capability is essential for a profitable, scalable rare earth recycling industry in India.