Phoenix Tailings Plans $375 Million Rochester Facility as Part of $1.2 Billion U.S. Rare Earth Expansion
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Phoenix Tailings, a Massachusetts-based critical minerals technology company, plans to invest $375 million in a rare earth separation facility at Eastman Business Park, positioning the Rochester region as a significant contributor to the growing U.S. rare earth manufacturing industry.
The facility, known as Freedom Separation, is part of the company's broader $1.2 billion-plus Freedom Project, an initiative to establish domestic processing and metal production capabilities for materials essential to electric vehicles, electronics, renewable energy systems and national defense.
The project is expected to create at least 90 jobs initially and support more than 200 direct jobs in New York when fully operational. Operations are scheduled to begin ramping up in 2027, with full production targeted for 2028.
The Rochester operation will occupy approximately 500,000 square feet at Eastman Business Park in the town of Greece, according to New York state economic development officials.
Why Rare Earth Processing Matters
Rare earth elements are a group of 17 metallic elements used in technologies ranging from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced military systems. Despite their name, many are relatively abundant in the Earth's crust. The challenge is extracting, separating and refining them economically.
China dominates much of the global rare earth processing industry, creating supply chain vulnerabilities for American manufacturers and defense contractors. While the United States has domestic rare earth resources, its capacity to separate those materials into individual compounds and convert them into finished metals remains limited. Phoenix Tailings is working to address that gap.
Its technology is designed to recover valuable minerals from mined materials, industrial byproducts and recycled sources. The company then separates the rare earth elements and converts them into metals and alloys for industrial customers. The Rochester facility will focus on separation, an essential intermediate step between obtaining raw materials and producing usable metals. At full capacity, the company expects the facility to process more than 18,000 tons of rare earth feedstock annually and produce more than 4,400 tons of separated rare earth oxides. Those materials will supply downstream metal production operations, including the company's facility in Exeter, New Hampshire.
A Growing American Manufacturing Company
Founded in 2019, Phoenix Tailings has evolved from a startup focused on recovering metals from mining waste into a vertically integrated critical minerals manufacturer. The company operates refining and metal production facilities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
In October 2025, Phoenix Tailings opened a rare earth metallization facility in Exeter, initially designed to produce approximately 200 tons of rare earth metals annually, with the potential to expand beyond 1,000 tons. The company produces materials including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, elements used in high-performance magnets and other industrial applications. Its expansion has been supported by private investors, strategic partners and federal funding.
In February 2026, Phoenix Tailings announced a $40.2 million financing round, bringing its total Series B funding to $116.6 million. Investors and strategic partners have included Traxys, Eni Next, Olive Tree Capital and Yamaha Motor Ventures. The company has also established research partnerships with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota to advance automation, materials analysis and rare earth separation technology.
These efforts are supported by a $66 million U.S. Department of Energy grant announced in June 2026, part of a $147.8 million project focused on expanding domestic heavy rare earth production.
Why Rochester Won the Investment
Phoenix Tailings selected Eastman Business Park following a nationwide search that evaluated approximately 150 locations across all 50 states. The company's decision reflects Rochester's established strengths in advanced manufacturing, engineering, chemical processing and industrial operations.
Eastman Business Park, the former manufacturing center of Eastman Kodak, offers industrial infrastructure, transportation access and facilities suited to large-scale production. For Phoenix Tailings CEO and co-founder Nick Myers, the decision also represents a personal connection to Rochester.
Myers earned a master's degree in business administration from Rochester Institute of Technology. His grandfather, Nicholas Sfikas, founded Rochester 100 Inc., a local manufacturing company located approximately 15 minutes from the planned facility.
"My grandfather, Nicholas Sfikas, started Rochester 100 Inc. just 15 minutes from the site of our new facility," Myers said in the company's announcement.
Myers credited the region's workforce and manufacturing expertise as important factors in the company's selection.
"Rochester has those people. They know how to build, how to innovate, and how to run world-class industrial operations," he said.
The investment also adds to the ongoing transformation of Eastman Business Park into a center for advanced manufacturing, energy technology and industrial innovation.
Federal and State Investment Supports Expansion
The Freedom Project has attracted substantial government support as the United States works to reduce its dependence on foreign rare earth processing.
In June 2026, the U.S. Department of War's Office of Strategic Capital announced a conditional commitment of $500 million in long-term financing to support Phoenix Tailings' domestic rare earth infrastructure. The financing remains subject to financial, technical, legal and other due diligence requirements before final approval.
New York state is also offering up to $3 million in performance-based tax credits through Empire State Development's Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program, tied to the company's commitment to create at least 90 jobs.
Gov. Kathy Hochul described the project as an investment in the state's innovation economy and national security.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer also welcomed the expansion, citing its potential to create manufacturing jobs and strengthen domestic supply chains.
The broader Freedom Project is expected to support more than 500 jobs across facilities in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and an additional future location.
Environmental and Operational Considerations
Phoenix Tailings has positioned its proprietary processing technology as a cleaner alternative to traditional rare earth refining methods, which can require hazardous chemicals and generate significant industrial waste. The company says its processes are designed to reduce waste and direct emissions while improving worker safety. However, processing rare earth materials at commercial scale introduces environmental and operational considerations, particularly when feedstocks originate from mining waste.
Phoenix Tailings does not expect to receive materials derived from mine tailings at the Rochester facility until 2030. Those materials would first undergo processing at another location before being transported to Eastman Business Park.
The company also indicated that certain state and local approvals remain outstanding. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027. These milestones will be important as Phoenix Tailings moves from announced investment to commercial production.
What the Investment Means for Rochester
The Phoenix Tailings announcement represents more than another manufacturing project for the Rochester region. It places Eastman Business Park within an emerging domestic supply chain for materials critical to advanced technology, energy infrastructure and national defense.
The investment also highlights the economic potential of repurposing established industrial facilities for new manufacturing industries. Rochester's history in chemical processing, materials science and precision manufacturing provides a foundation for companies seeking to commercialize complex technologies. For local engineering firms, industrial suppliers, construction companies and workforce development organizations, the project could generate additional opportunities as Phoenix Tailings builds its operations.
The company expects to recruit for positions in engineering, operations, maintenance, technical services and administration beginning in 2027. If Phoenix Tailings meets its production and employment targets, the Rochester facility could become a major component of America's expanding rare earth processing infrastructure.
The project also offers another example of how established manufacturing regions can participate in emerging industries without building an industrial ecosystem entirely from scratch.
For Rochester, the opportunity is to translate decades of manufacturing experience into a new generation of advanced industrial production.