Advanced Recovery and Rare Earth Capture at Scale

This white paper presents a detailed account of a rare earth material capture program initiated in the United States, focusing on the recovery of valuable metals from end-of-life hard disk drives (HDDs). The program, a collaboration between Western Digital, Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling, and PedalPoint Recycling, successfully converted approximately 47,000 pounds of HDDs and solid-state drives into critical metals, significantly enhancing the U.S. supply chain. The innovative recovery process achieved a 95% reduction in climate-changing gases compared to traditional mining methods. The paper outlines the methodology and data supporting this reduction, emphasizing the efficiency of the acid-free dissolution process that recovers over 90% of rare earth elements (REEs) from HDD feedstock. The study also highlights the environmental benefits of secondary production over primary production, addressing the growing demand for data storage driven by artificial intelligence. The findings underscore the potential for sustainable resource recovery and the importance of developing a domestic ecosystem for end-of-life management.