Radify Metals raises $3M to refine rare-earth elements with plasma

Radify Metals has launched with just under $3 million in funding to tackle the rare-earth supply chain. The startup is developing a plasma reactor—a technology that uses superheated particles to strip oxygen from metal oxides—which could break China’s dominance of rare-earth elements. Rare-earth elements are key ingredients in magnets and electronics, representing a small but geopolitically significant portion of the global metals market. While countries like the U.S. have started taking steps to reverse China’s dominance, the transition has been slow. Radify has cracked the plasma problem through a combination of more efficient power electronics and engineering, offering a cleaner alternative to traditional, highly polluting refining processes that rely on heat or water. The startup’s funding was raised from investors including Overture, Founders Inc., Mana Ventures, and Acequia Capital.

Co-founder and CEO Zach Detweiler noted that supporting an entire industrial base requires matching the capacity of every node in the supply chain. He identified the step of turning metal oxides into pure metals as a critical gap. “That’s this missing middle we’ve identified,” Detweiler said. Unlike traditional refining, the plasma process’s only waste is water vapor.

The technology is also designed to withstand geopolitical price fluctuations. Detweiler noted that when China bottoms out the price of dysprosium and starts selling it for a dollar a kilogram because they want to kill a lot of the businesses out there, Radify can pivot to other metals like titanium or zirconium, making the company substantially more resilient to the volatility endemic to the metals industry. If Radify can reproduce at a larger scale the results it’s seeing today, it could give Chinese producers a run for their money. In the near term, Detweiler thinks that Radify can produce rare-earths that cost just 50% more than China’s prices, though he also expects Chinese spot prices to go up.

Currently, the five-strong team is refining its technology in its laboratory. By the end of the year, the startup hopes to produce several kilograms of pure metal per day. Looking ahead, Radify plans to raise additional funding to build a pilot reactor capable of processing up to 100 kilograms per day. If the technology scales successfully, Detweiler believes the company will have completely changed how humans make metal.

Why it matters

Radify’s technology addresses a critical bottleneck in the rare-earth supply chain, offering a potential path for global manufacturers to reduce dependence on Chinese refining capacity.