"We are dealing with critical metals that we desperately need for energy transition and electrification of our society," says Ahmad Ghahreman, CEO of Cyclic Materials, a Toronto startup that's developing a process to take the end-of-life components of EV engines and mine them for the raw materials, which can then be used to manufacture magnets, as well as in other applications. This keeps those rare earth metals out of landfills — where they could contaminate the soil — and within domestic supply chains.

This is why recycling is important. As demand for EVs reaches critical mass, it's estimated that hundreds of new mines will need to be opened around the globe. Those mines have a huge impact on the environment, and take dollars out of the Canadian economy. But by recycling existing materials, we can reduce those impacts.