Phoenix Tailings, a Massachusetts rare earth metals company, will build a $375 million rare earth separation plant at Eastman Business Park in Rochester, NY, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced on Oct. 20, 2026. The company has committed to at least 90 new jobs at launch and expects the site to support more than 200 direct New York jobs when fully running.
The Rochester, NY deal at a glance
- Size: a $375 million facility in a 500,000-square-foot space at Eastman Business Park, according to the governor’s office.
- Jobs: at least 90 new jobs committed; more than 200 direct New York jobs expected at full operation.
- Start and end dates: some operations are planned to begin in 2027, with full production expected in 2028.
- State incentive: up to $3 million in performance-based Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits from Empire State Development, tied to the job commitments.
- Bigger picture: the plant is part of what the company calls its Freedom Project, which Phoenix Tailings says is a $1.2 billion-plus investment across its U.S. operations.
What the Eastman Business Park plant will do
The company is calling the Rochester site Freedom Separation. According to Phoenix Tailings, it will take mixed rare earth feedstocks, both mined material and recycled material, and separate them into rare earth oxides. Those oxides are then sent to the company’s metal-making plants, which turn them into the metals used in permanent magnets.
The state says the plant is expected to separate about 18,000 tons of rare earth material a year, enough for about 3,000 tons of rare earth metals at the company’s downstream facilities. The company’s own release puts output at more than 4,400 tons a year of separated rare earth oxides. Phoenix Tailings currently runs metallization facilities in Burlington, Massachusetts, and Exeter, New Hampshire, according to the U.S. Department of War.
Rare earth metals go into electric vehicle motors, electronics, smartphones, medical equipment and defense systems. The governor’s office said China processes about 90 percent of the world’s rare earth minerals. The Boston Report has covered China’s critical-mineral export controls and why that concentration matters for U.S. manufacturers.
Federal money behind the Rochester project
In June 2026, the Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital announced a $500 million conditional loan commitment to Phoenix Tailings. The department said the loan and private capital together are meant to provide about $1 billion for expanded metal production and a new separation and metallization facility. The commitment is not final: the company still has to complete financial, legal, technical and other due diligence before the loan closes.
The governor’s office also said the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the company a $66 million grant, part of a $147.8 million project to show that heavy rare earth metals can be produced in the United States from waste materials.
Why Eastman Business Park
Eastman Business Park is the former Kodak Park, where Kodak made photographic film and paper for more than a century. The state says the park now hosts more than 100 companies employing over 6,000 people and is a priority of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council.
Phoenix Tailings says it picked the park after a nationwide search, citing its industrial infrastructure and the local workforce in engineering, chemical processing and plant operations. Greater Rochester Enterprise, the region’s economic development group, said it worked with the company on site selection, incentives, permitting and hiring.
Chief executive Nick Myers has family ties to the area. “My grandfather, Nicholas Sfikas, started Rochester 100 Inc. just 15 minutes from the site of our new facility,” Myers said in the company’s release.
The project adds to a run of Finger Lakes manufacturing announcements this year. In July, Empire State Development announced a more than $32 million expansion by Sydor Optics on Jet View Drive, and in August it reported that QED Technologies finished an $18.7 million expansion on University Avenue.
What it means for Rochester-area job seekers
The company has not published a hiring timeline for the Rochester plant. Its release lists engineering, advanced manufacturing, chemical processing and plant operations as the skills it is drawing on. Residents interested in openings can watch the Phoenix Tailings website and Greater Rochester Enterprise announcements. Rochester-area employers have been growing elsewhere too; Rochester-based Wegmans has expanded deep into Massachusetts.
Reactions
“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,” Hochul said.
“America and its allies cannot build the next generation of advanced manufacturing on a rare earth supply chain they do not control,” Myers said in the state release.
Rep. Joe Morelle said the investment “will put our region to work rebuilding America’s critical mineral supply chain.” Monroe County Executive Adam Bello said the county was “thrilled that they have chosen Eastman Business Park.” Greece Town Supervisor Jeff McCann said the project would “cement Eastman Business Park’s role as a hub for advanced manufacturing in our region.”
Sources
- Office of the Governor: Phoenix Tailings to establish $375 million facility in Monroe County (Oct. 20, 2026)
- Phoenix Tailings: Phoenix Tailings selects Rochester, NY (Oct. 20, 2026)
- U.S. Department of War: Office of Strategic Capital $500 million conditional loan commitment (June 16, 2026)
Additional sources
- Empire State Development: Sydor Optics expansion in Monroe County (July 30, 2026)
- Empire State Development: QED Technologies expansion completed (Aug. 5, 2026)
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