Flash Metals USA

What Flash Metals USA does

Flash Metals USA Inc. is a Houston-based industrial technology company and wholly owned subsidiary of MTM Critical Metals (ASX: MTM; OTCQX: MTMCF) that commercializes Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology, an electrothermal chlorination platform exclusively licensed from Rice University (Dr. James Tour). The technology uses ultrafast electrical pulses to drive proprietary chemistry to temperatures exceeding 3,000°C in milliseconds, liberating critical and precious metals — gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, and rare earth elements — from electronic waste, semiconductor scrap, mine tailings, Red Mud (bauxite residue), and rare earth magnet scrap without acids or traditional smelting. The company's anchor commercial facility is the Texas Technology Campus (Gator Point), a pre-permitted 5-hectare site in Chambers County, Texas, hosting a Stage 1 processing line targeting 8,000 tonnes per annum of inbound PCB feedstock with a Stage 2 expansion to 16,000 tpa and a separate Specialty Materials Demonstration Line (up to 350 tpa) for REE and semiconductor feedstocks. The technology has demonstrated approximately 90% gallium recovery, 80% germanium recovery, and 98% antimony recovery from electronic waste streams, with peer-reviewed FJH-Cl₂ performance showing 87% lower energy use, 84% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, and 54% lower operating costs versus hydrometallurgy for rare earth recovery from NdFeB and SmCo magnets.

Flash Metals USA generates revenue through direct B2B and government sales channels, selling recovered critical and precious metals under multi-year offtake agreements with formula-based pricing, supplemented by government SBIR contracts and a developing technology licensing and processing-as-a-service business model. The company has secured a 10-year offtake agreement with Indium Corporation covering gallium, germanium, copper, tin, gold, and indium, an MOU with Glencore providing feedstock supply plus an offtake option on up to 75% of marketable recycled production, and a $1 million Phase II SBIR contract from the U.S. Department of War through the Defense Logistics Agency for gallium and germanium recovery from electronic waste. Feedstock supply is anchored by binding contracts covering 50% of Stage 1 throughput, including a 5-year LOI with Plastic Recycling Inc. (300 tpa minimum, up to 400 tpa) and an LOI with Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations, together securing over 1,100 tonnes per annum of high-grade electronic scrap. The company's primary customer segments are U.S. defense and government agencies, semiconductor and specialty metals refiners, major e-waste recyclers, and rare earth and mining companies, with vertical-specific pain points centered on U.S. import dependence for gallium, germanium, and rare earth refining capacity currently dominated by China.

The company was founded in 2024, is led by President and Managing Director Steve Ragiel (formerly of Waste Management's Recycle America Alliance and founder of Greenstar North America), and is guided by an advisory board with senior U.S. defense and national security credentials. Operations are concentrated at the Texas headquarters (12 Greenway Plaza, Suite 1100, Houston) and the Chambers County Technology Campus, with pre-permitted expansion options under exclusive agreement in Westport, Massachusetts and Harrisonburg, Virginia. Parent company MTM Critical Metals is pursuing a Nasdaq uplist expected later in 2026, positioning Flash Metals USA within U.S. critical mineral supply chain policy frameworks addressing domestic strategic autonomy for defense, semiconductor, and advanced electronics manufacturing.

Name

Flash Metals USA

Legal name

Flash Metals USA Inc.

Website

https://flashmetalsusa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Flash Metals USA is a Houston-based industrial technology company that uses Flash Joule Heating technology, exclusively licensed from Rice University, to recover critical and precious metals from electronic waste and industrial residues for U.S. defense, semiconductor, and recycling customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Critical Metals Recovery

NAICS

Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Smelting and Refining (33141), Secondary Smelting, Refining, and Alloying of Nonferrous Metal (except Copper and Aluminum) (331492)

SIC

Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341), Primary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3330)

akta.pro primary industry

Precious & Specialty Metal Recovery (Smelting, Refining, Hydrometallurgy) (EUAIAIAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Non-Ferrous Scrap Processing & Recycling (Aluminum, Copper, Brass, Lead, Zinc) (EUAIAJAB), Precious Metals Smelting & Refining (IMAKAEAE), Copper Recycling & Secondary Copper Smelting/Refining (IMAKADAK)

Keywords

• Critical metals recovery
• Electronic waste recycling
• Rare earth processing
• Flash Joule Heating
• Urban mining

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Sale of Recovered Critical and Precious Metals: Flash Metals USA recovers and sells gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, antimony, gallium, germanium, and indium as metal chloride intermediates or refined products. Primary products from PCB processing include gold, copper, silver, and tin. Revenue is realized upon sale to commercial offtake partners including Indium Corporation (10-year offtake), Glencore (up to 75% of production), and other specialty metals buyers.
2. Long-Term Offtake Agreements: Multi-year offtake agreements with formula-based pricing and auto-renewal options provide long-term revenue visibility. Includes 10-year agreement with Indium Corporation covering gallium, germanium, copper, tin, gold, and indium. Glencore holds option on up to 75% of marketable recycled product offtake.
3. Technology Licensing and Processing-as-a-Service: Flash Metals USA is developing technology licensing and processing-as-a-service business models for mineral processing and critical metal recovery projects. The company is also evaluating tolling arrangements with partners such as Ucore for integrated rare earth processing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Flash Metals USA commercializes Flash Joule Heating (FJH), a patented electrothermal chlorination process exclusively licensed from Rice University, to recover critical and precious metals — including gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, and rare earth elements — from electronic waste (PCBs), semiconductor scrap, mineral concentrates, Red Mud (bauxite residue), and end-of-life magnets. The company processes feedstocks at its Texas Technology Campus in Chambers County, producing metal chloride intermediates for sale to enterprise offtake customers and government buyers under long-term agreements.

Product overview

Flash Metals USA operates as a U.S.-based critical metals recovery company commercializing the proprietary Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology platform exclusively licensed from Rice University. The offering consists of the FJH Technology Platform as the core enabling technology, complemented by the Texas Technology Campus (Gator Point) processing hub which hosts the Stage-1 PCB Processing Line and Specialty Materials Demonstration Line as modular processing units. The company provides Critical Metals Recycling and Urban Mining Processing services, recovering gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, and antimony from printed circuit boards, plus specialty metals including gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements from semiconductor waste and industrial residues. Additional services include Red Mud valorization for the aluminum industry and an integrated FJH-RapidSX rare earth refining pathway developed in partnership with Ucore Rare Metals. The technology eliminates need for acids or traditional smelting, using ultrafast electrical pulses at 3,000°C+ to process diverse feedstocks.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flash Joule Heating (FJH) Critical Metals Recovery Technology Proprietary electrothermal metal recovery technology using ultrafast electrical pulses to generate temperatures exceeding 3,000°C in milliseconds, enabling extraction of critical and precious metals from electronic waste, mineral concentrates, and industrial residues without acids or traditional smelting. Recovered metals include gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, antimony, gallium, germanium, indium, and rare earth elements. Exclusively licensed from Rice University (Dr. James Tour) for all metal recovery and mineral processing applications.
• Critical Metals Recycling Service Domestic critical and precious metals recovery service that processes electronic waste, semiconductor scrap, and industrial residues at the Texas Technology Campus to extract gold, silver, copper, tin, palladium, antimony, gallium, germanium, and rare earth elements using FJH technology. Output is sold as metal chloride intermediates or refined metals under long-term offtake agreements to specialty metals buyers and government agencies.
• FJH-RapidSX Integrated Rare Earth Refining Pathway Collaborative rare earth element processing pathway combining Flash Metals USA's FJH upstream chloride upgrading with Ucore's RapidSX downstream separation, enabling U.S.-based refining of diverse REE feedstocks without reliance on Chinese infrastructure. Includes a magnet recycling entry via magnet-scrap-to-separated REE pathway focused on dysprosium and terbium. Validated at >90% purity and >90% yield in seconds with 87% lower energy use and 84% fewer GHG emissions than hydrometallurgy.
• Red Mud (Bauxite Residue) Valorization Service Processing of bauxite residue (Red Mud) from alumina production using FJH technology to recover iron (as saleable FeCl₃), alumina, titanium, scandium, and gallium, while reducing Fe₂O₃:Al₂O₃ ratio to approximately 1 for cement additive suitability and neutralizing Red Mud alkalinity. Stage 2 targets full critical metal recovery including iron, alumina, titanium, scandium, and REEs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90% gallium recovery from semiconductor waste using FJH technology
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Indium CorporationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 202610-year offtake agreement covering supply of gallium, germanium, copper, tin, gold, and indium recovered from Flash Metals' U.S. recycling operations. Includes automatic five-year renewal periods and formula-based pricing. Represents a significant step in commercializing Flash Metals' domestic critical metals recycling platform and supports U.S. semiconductor supply chains.
• Rice UniversitycoreTechnology or Integration · 15 October 2025Rice University researchers (led by Professor James Tour) developed and validated FJH-Cl₂ method for REE recovery from magnet waste, published in PNAS September 2025. Flash Metals holds exclusive licensing rights to commercialize FJH technology for critical metal recovery. Rice partnership also advancing direct REE separation route using FJH. Peer-reviewed validation confirms >90% purity and yield for REE recovery from NdFeB and SmCo magnets with 87% lower energy use and 84% fewer GHG emissions than hydrometallurgy.
• Glencore plcflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 2 October 2025MOU with Glencore subsidiary covering feedstock supply and product offtake. Glencore will supply electronic scrap toward Flash Metals' Stage 1 target of 8,000 tpa inbound PCB tonnage with scope to expand. Glencore will provide technical assistance including assaying services. Glencore holds exclusive negotiation rights on up to 75% of Flash Metals' production of marketable recycled products (excluding high-value niche products such as gallium, germanium, indium, and REEs). Framework for long-term collaboration in U.S. e-waste recycling.
• Ucore Rare Metals Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2025Binding 12-month Technology Collaboration Agreement integrating Flash Metals' FJH with Ucore's RapidSX separation platform to create the first U.S. pathway for taking diverse REE feedstocks to separated oxide products. FJH provides upstream chloride upgrading; RapidSX delivers downstream separation. Creates a sovereign, non-Chinese refining pathway for rare earths. Includes magnet recycling entry via magnet-scrap-to-separated REE pathway, with focus on dysprosium and terbium. Each party processes the other's feedstocks at its existing facilities. Also exploring joint U.S. government grant submissions.
• Plastic Recycling Inc.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 April 20255-year LOI (expected to convert to binding contract) for supply of up to 400 tonnes per annum of processed electronic scrap (PES) rich in PCB components. First 300 tpa exclusive to Flash Metals. Minimum annual volume commitment of 300 tpa. PRI operates facilities in Indianapolis (IN), Jefferson City (TN), and Cowpens (SC) with combined footprint exceeding one million square feet. Feedstock pricing indexed to Scrap Register adjusted for assay results.
• Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations (DLI)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 10 April 2025LOI for supply of high-grade PCB-rich electronic scrap. Together with Plastic Recycling Inc., DLI and PRI collectively secure over 1,100 t/year of high-grade e-scrap feedstock, underpinning Flash Metals' initial and future U.S. processing capacity. DLI manages a 140,000 sq ft materials processing facility in Wisconsin and a 74,000 sq ft facility in Tennessee, both equipped with cutting-edge ITAD services.
• Vedanta LimitedminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 March 2025MOU with Vedanta (India's largest aluminium producer) to apply FJH technology for Red Mud (bauxite residue) recycling. FJH transforms Red Mud iron oxides into saleable FeCl₃ and optimizes iron-to-alumina ratio for cement additive. Concentrates alumina, titanium, and gallium for recovery. Non-binding 12-month MOU with no financial obligations; Flash Metals conducts prototype-scale testing on Vedanta-supplied Red Mud from Lanjigarh Alumina Refinery. Stage 2 targets full critical metal recovery.
• KnightHawk EngineeringcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 3 March 2025Engineering design partner responsible for completing the 1TPD FJH process design for the Demonstration Plant. Successfully completed process and mechanical design criteria. KHE demonstrated strategic commitment by converting 50% of deferred success fees into MTM equity. Also engaged to assist in scaling and commercializing FJH technology, designing and supplying the 1TPD Demonstration Plant.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Flash Metals USA