Western Digital has taken a decisive step forward with an ambitious program to recover critical components from end-of-life hard drives. This project, carried out in collaboration with Microsoft, Critical Materials Recycling (CMR), and PedalPoint Recycling, has achieved unprecedented levels of recovery using an innovative acid-free technique.
Process for extracting rare earths from hard drives
The process begins with the collection of discarded storage drives from US data centers . These drives are shredded and sorted by PedalPoint, which separates magnets, cases, and metal components. CMR then applies the ADR (Acid-free Dissolution Recycling) recycling method, extracting neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium oxides with an efficiency exceeding 90%.
The initiative, in addition to significantly reducing the carbon footprint (95% less than traditional mining), represents a structural change in the way we manage electronic waste. With this model, the US strengthens its autonomy over the supply of strategic minerals, a key step in the face of trade tensions with supplier countries like China.
The pilot program has become an example applicable to other industries, such as automotive and renewable energy. The extracted rare earths can fuel the manufacture of electric vehicle engines or wind turbines, promoting a robust, multi-sector circular economy.
Towards a truly circular supply chain
Western Digital is committed to deeper integration of customers and technology partners into the advanced recycling ecosystem. The goal is to consolidate a closed loop that reduces hardware waste and maximizes the recovery of valuable resources, setting a new global standard for the data storage industry.
As the company’s director of product sustainability, Rhownica Birch, put it, this breakthrough “builds a replicable model that can take circularity beyond the technological environment.” A model that is ready to be adopted by those who believe that sustainability and innovation can go hand in hand.
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Source and internal photo : Western Digital
Main photo: shutterstock