By Staff Reporter
ROCHESTER — A Massachusetts company that pulls rare earth metals out of mining waste has picked the old Kodak complex in Rochester for a $375 million processing plant, and New York is offering it up to $3 million in tax credits to get there.
Phoenix Tailings will occupy 500,000 square feet at Eastman Business Park and has committed to creating at least 90 jobs, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday. The state expects the site to eventually support more than 200 direct jobs, with some operations starting in 2027 and full production in 2028.
For Western New York, the deal is worth a close look for two reasons: what it says about where the state’s industrial bets are landing upstate, and what Albany is paying per job compared with recent deals in Buffalo.
A China-dominated supply chain
Rare earth elements go into the magnets used in electric vehicles, electronics, medical devices and defense equipment. China processes about 90 percent of the world’s supply, according to the governor’s office. Phoenix Tailings says its process recovers the metals from mining waste and other industrial sources without the waste and emissions of conventional refining.
When fully running, the Rochester plant is expected to separate about 18,000 tons of rare earth material a year, enough for about 3,000 tons of metal at the company’s downstream facilities.
“America and its allies cannot build the next generation of advanced manufacturing on a rare earth supply chain they do not control,” said Nick Myers, the company’s co-founder and chief executive. He said the plant is designed with “zero waste, zero direct process emissions and a safer process for the people who operate it.”
The state is a small part of the financing. The U.S. Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital made a conditional commitment in June of $500 million in long-term loans, still subject to review, and the Department of Energy has awarded the company a $66 million grant toward a $147.8 million project to produce heavy rare earth metals from waste, according to the governor’s office. Phoenix Tailings says it expects to invest $1.2 billion across its U.S. operations, supporting more than 500 jobs in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and a future site.
“Phoenix Tailings will not only create at least 90 new jobs at Eastman Business Park further supporting our state’s innovation economy, but they will also play a critical role in bolstering our national security,” Ms. Hochul said.
What Albany is paying, and how it compares
Empire State Development is offering up to $3 million in performance-based credits through the Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program. Measured against the 90-job commitment, that works out to about $33,000 per job on paper.
Two weeks ago in Buffalo, ESD offered Solstice Advanced Materials up to $1.4 million in Excelsior credits for a $49 million expansion of its Peabody Street research lab, the governor’s office said Oct. 9. That project commits to 12 new jobs on top of 180 existing ones, or about $117,000 in potential credits per new job.
The comparison has limits. Excelsior credits can reward investment and research spending as well as hiring, and Solstice is keeping an established workforce in the city. ESD has not published the formula behind either award. But the per-job numbers are the kind of figure taxpayers can use to judge the deals, and ESD could make that easier by showing its math when it announces them.
The Phoenix Tailings award may also not be the whole public package. The governor’s office said the project “is expected to benefit from broader statutory, local and infrastructure benefits” without listing them. The Buffalo Chronicle has asked ESD what those benefits are and what the company must do to earn the full $3 million.
“Phoenix Tailings’ commitment means that new high-tech jobs and advanced technologies will be coming to Eastman Business Park, supporting regional economic growth in the Finger Lakes and demonstrating the success of our strategic efforts,” said ESD President and CEO Hope Knight.
Kodak’s old campus, reused
Eastman Business Park, where Kodak began making photographic film and paper more than a century ago, now hosts more than 100 companies that together employ over 6,000 people, according to the state.
“America’s dependence on foreign countries for the critical minerals and rare earths that power our economy and our national defense is a vulnerability we cannot afford,” said Rep. Joe Morelle, the Rochester Democrat.
Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said the company “is helping build the next generation of advanced manufacturing right here in Monroe County.”
What to watch
Excelsior credits are paid only if a company meets its job and investment targets, and ESD reports on the program publicly. Whether Phoenix Tailings reaches 90 jobs by its deadlines, and whether the $500 million federal loan is finalized, will decide how much of Tuesday’s announcement turns into payroll in Rochester. For Buffalo, the question is whether its own industrial sites can compete for the next round of supply-chain projects like this one.
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