Singapore-based cleantech company BioMetallica is sizing up the Philippines for a potential urban mining facility that would recover valuable metals from electronic waste and other industrial materials, according to the Board of Investments (BOI).
The National University of Singapore spin-off, founded in 2022, is exploring an integrated recycling operation as it assesses opportunities to tap the country’s growing e-waste stream and demand for advanced recycling technologies.
BioMetallica develops technologies to recover precious and critical raw materials from electronic waste, spent autocatalysts, end-of-life solar panels and magnets.
During a meeting with the BOI, the company’s Head for Strategy and Partnerships Filippo Colagrande identified the Philippines as a potential base for recycling and urban mining operations.
BioMetallica cited the country’s significant e-waste generation and rapidly expanding use of digital technologies and electronic devices. Gaps in collection networks and end-to-end recycling capacity, it said, could also create room for advanced recycling investments.
The company’s technologies are designed to allow metal recovery closer to where waste is generated, potentially reducing logistics and export risks while improving processing efficiency and helping recyclers capture more value from discarded materials.
As it weighs the investment, BioMetallica is engaging Philippine stakeholders on potential partnerships involving feedstock sourcing, processing and development of an integrated facility.
A local operation could allow more metals from discarded electronics to be recovered domestically instead of being shipped overseas for processing, potentially keeping more value within the Philippine economy.
The BOI said the proposed investment aligns with government efforts to promote resource efficiency, environmental sustainability and higher-value industrial activities.
The agency added that advanced recycling facilities could help close gaps in domestic resource recovery, strengthen supply-chain resilience and support the country’s push toward a circular economy.
For the Philippines, the potential project comes as the volume of electronic waste grows alongside digital adoption, highlighting both the environmental challenge—and the economic value—of recovering materials already embedded in discarded devices.
