Microsoft Azure: Microsoft invests in rare earth materials startup

 Microsoft has made an equity investment in a rare earth materials startup focused on recycling hard drives,  Canada’s Cyclic Materials,  a metals recycling company that has developed a patent-pending technology, CC360.

“Microsoft is working to achieve zero waste across our direct operations, products, and packaging by 2030. This means adopting a circular economy approach,” said Brandon Middaugh, senior director, Climate Innovation Fund, Microsoft. “As demand for rare earth elements continues to grow in importance, we’re excited to support the creation of a sustainable supply of these materials with this investment.” 
 

Ahmad Ghahreman, co-founder and CEO of Cyclic Materials added: “This support enables us to accelerate the deployment of our commercial facilities, which is a critical step in growing the domestic supply of rare earths in North America that support the energy transition. Additionally, we value the input that SLS has provided, helping us to validate our new CC360 technology that we believe will prove invaluable to large data center operators such as Microsoft as they work towards their circularity and sustainability goals.”