JX Advanced Metals is spearheading a quiet transformation in Japan’s metals sector, gradually moving from traditional copper smelting toward a recycling-dominant model. By investing billions of yen in pre-treatment and recycled-material processing lines, the company addresses a structural market reality: declining ore grades, volatile supply chains, and shrinking primary copper margins.
The company aims to increase recycled-material throughput by roughly 50% within the next few years, blending conventional ore with electronic waste, industrial scrap, and secondary feedstock. Long-term, JX targets at least half of its raw input from recycled sources. This shift improves profitability as treatment and refining charges tighten globally, while rising demand from electrification, semiconductors, and digital technologies makes recycling economically attractive.
Beyond economics, the transition enhances Japan’s industrial resilience, reduces carbon intensity, and strengthens strategic independence from imported ores. JX’s strategy signals a deliberate re-engineering of supply security and circularity in one of Asia’s most advanced economies.
ETH Zurich: Pioneering Rare-Earth Recycling in Europe
Researchers at ETH Zurich are tackling one of the decade’s most critical challenges: industrial-scale rare-earth recycling from electronic waste. Their breakthrough uses a new extraction chemistry to selectively isolate elements like europium, improving efficiency and reducing chemical usage compared with traditional solvent extraction.
Rare-earth elements are essential for electric motors, wind turbines, and electronics, yet recycling rates remain under 1%. ETH’s innovation could unlock secondary resources from end-of-life electronics, potentially integrating into European magnet-recycling hubs. While scaling remains a challenge, the technology represents the most significant European advancement in rare-earth circularity in over a decade, supporting strategic autonomy in critical minerals.
Redwood Materials: Building America’s Circular Battery Economy
Redwood Materials has evolved into a cornerstone of North America’s battery-materials ecosystem, recovering lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper from used batteries and production scrap. Its vertically integrated recycling and refining operations create a sustainable supply chain for domestic battery manufacturing, reducing reliance on mined ores.
The company addresses both environmental and industrial goals: lowering the carbon footprint of battery production while ensuring secure, domestic access to critical metals. As EV production surges, Redwood’s model illustrates how circular-economy practices can underpin a strategic, resilient battery supply chain in the U.S.
Salzgitter AG: Industrial Steel Meets Critical-Metal Circularity
European steelmaker Salzgitter AG is pioneering iridium recovery from electrolytic galvanizing anodes, transforming a previously waste-rich stream into a strategic material feedstock. Iridium, essential for high-performance coatings and hydrogen electrolysis, is scarce globally, making internal recycling both economically and strategically important.
By integrating iridium recovery into daily operations, Salzgitter reduces primary mining dependence, mitigates commodity volatility, and strengthens European industrial resilience. This example highlights how traditional industries can contribute meaningfully to circular-materials ecosystems and strategic raw-material security.
A Global Shift Toward Circular Metals
From Japan’s recycling-first smelting and ETH Zurich’s rare-earth innovation to Redwood Materials’ battery circularity and Salzgitter’s critical-metal recovery, the global metals sector is undergoing a profound shift. Circular-economy strategies are increasingly integrated into industrial planning, aligning economic, environmental, and strategic objectives. As electrification, digitalization, and renewable energy accelerate, these innovations redefine material security, supply resilience, and industrial competitiveness worldwide.
