Cyclic Materials Taps Billion-Dollar Dealmaker to Secure Rare Earth Supply

TORONTO, ON – July 16, 2026 – In the high-stakes global chess match for critical minerals, personnel moves are often as revealing as billion-dollar investments. Cyclic Materials, a company aiming to build a circular supply chain for rare earth elements (REEs), has just made a decisive one. The appointment of Dr. Tomasz Poznar as its Chief Commercial Officer is far more than a routine executive shuffle; it is a clear declaration of intent to shift from technological validation to aggressive global commercialization.

Poznar is not just any executive. He is a proven rainmaker in the critical materials sector, arriving from battery recycler Ascend Elements where he was instrumental in securing over USD $1.5 billion in commercial agreements and helping land approximately $320 million in government funding. By bringing him on board, Cyclic Materials is signaling to investors, partners, and competitors that it is ready to translate its promising technology into market dominance.

The Blueprint of a Commercial Powerhouse

To understand the strategic rationale behind this hire, one need only look at Poznar's recent track record. At Ascend Elements, he led the commercial strategy that transformed the company into a major player in the battery materials space. His tenure included a landmark supply agreement worth over USD $1 billion with a major North American automaker, a deal that provides a tangible blueprint for the kind of partnerships Cyclic Materials must now forge.

Automakers, defense contractors, and technology giants are desperately seeking to de-risk their supply chains for the permanent magnets essential to everything from electric vehicle motors to AI data centers and guided missile systems. Poznar’s experience demonstrates an ability to navigate the complex negotiations required to lock in these long-term, high-value off-take agreements. His success was not limited to private deals; he was also pivotal in securing a monumental $480 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, leveraging government initiatives designed to onshore critical manufacturing. This dual expertise—mastery of both corporate boardrooms and government funding channels—is precisely what a scaling company in a geopolitically sensitive industry requires.

“Tomasz brings exactly the experience we were looking for to lead that next phase,” said Ahmad Ghahreman, Founder and CEO of Cyclic Materials. “His track record of building strategic partnerships and executing complex commercial agreements across the critical materials industry makes him an outstanding addition to our leadership team.”

From Pilot Success to Global Scale

Poznar joins Cyclic Materials at a critical inflection point. The company has successfully moved beyond the R&D lab, having completed its first commercial shipments of high-purity recycled neodymium and dysprosium oxides in late 2023. This achievement validated its proprietary hydrometallurgical technology, proving it can effectively recover high-value REEs from end-of-life products. But a successful pilot is not a successful business. The challenge now is scale.

Cyclic Materials' ambition is to establish a resilient, circular supply chain across North America, Europe, and Asia. This requires building a complex, two-sided network: securing a consistent feedstock of magnet-containing scrap on one end, and guaranteeing a steady supply of high-purity oxides to customers on the other. This is where Poznar’s role becomes central. He is tasked with building the commercial organization capable of executing this global vision, transforming a promising technology into a bankable, industrial-scale operation.

The market urgency is palpable. With global demand for rare earth elements projected to triple by 2035, the pressure to find alternative sources outside of China, which currently dominates over 85% of the world's REE processing, has become a matter of economic and national security for Western nations.

The Geopolitical Imperative for Circularity

The race for rare earths is no longer just a commercial competition; it is a core component of modern industrial strategy. The United States, with its Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Defense Production Act, and the European Union, with its Critical Raw Materials Act, are pouring billions into creating secure, domestic supply chains. They see companies like Cyclic Materials not merely as businesses, but as strategic assets.

Recycling, or “urban mining,” is a cornerstone of this strategy. It offers a powerful solution to the geopolitical vulnerability of relying on a single dominant supplier while also addressing the significant environmental toll of traditional mining. By recovering REEs already in circulation, Cyclic Materials can help create a buffer against supply disruptions and price volatility dictated by foreign powers.

Poznar himself framed his new role in these strategic terms. “The market is entering a new era where securing domestic, scalable sources of critical materials is becoming a business and trade imperative,” he stated. “Cyclic Materials has a unique business platform to make an impact, and is building the partnerships needed to make circular rare earth supply a commercial reality.”

His appointment is a bet that the future of critical materials lies not just in digging new holes in the ground, but in intelligently and efficiently harvesting the resources already embedded in our discarded technology. With a proven commercial architect now at the helm, Cyclic Materials has significantly increased its chances of building that future.