Rare earth metals are largely unknown to the general public, but are used in a variety of products. Elements themselves are not rare, including neodymium, and praisodymium and cerium. But they are concentrated in certain parts of the world and very challenging to refine into something useful. Their unique electrical and magnetic properties make them essential for electronics such as hard drives and headphones, and some are used as contrast agents for MRIs and CT scans. Many sell Thousands of dollars per metric ton.
In recent years, China has become an influential refiner of rare earths, and the Chinese Communist Party uses them as a bargaining chip in a tit-for-tat trade dispute with the United States.
“Typically, 330,000 to 350,000 tons of rare earths are produced each year. Historically, almost none of them have been produced in the United States,” said co-founder and CEO Nathan Ratledge. Alta Resource Technologies.
The US Department of Defense is nervous enough that it has secured the components main part Its industrial strategy.
“China could very easily weaponize this vital mineral supply,” Ratledge said. The potential fallout extends beyond defense applications. “They've already put export restrictions on some things that are pretty important to a lot of really valuable companies like Nvidia and Apple.”
There is currently one operating rare earth mine in the United States In CaliforniaBut it had a rocky history. There is an alternative, though, hidden in the tons of e-waste the country generates each year, Rutledge said.
Alta claims it has developed a way to extract rare earth elements from low-grade supplies more efficiently than current refining techniques, which rely on toxic chemicals applied in dozens of steps. The company, which until now has operated stealthily, instead uses a series of proteins specifically designed to latch on to rare earth elements, whether they're from virgin ore or electronic waste.
It's difficult for chemicals to distinguish between neighboring elements on the periodic table, Ratledge said. “When things are less complicated, chemicals can win, because chemicals are cheaper. And when things are more complicated, biology tends to shine because of selection. The trick is using biology in the right way.”
Alter proteins are attached to a resin and loaded into a column through which solutions containing rare earth elements are allowed to flow. The proteins strip the rare earths from the solution and, when they are saturated, the column is flushed and washed to free the metals. Ratledge says the proteins have proven to be surprisingly durable.
The company plans to build a pilot-scale plant the size of a shipping container this year. Ratledge said Alta is “reasonably confident” that the federal government will help fund at least part of the pilot's costs.
To help refine the technology and scale it up, Alta has raised a $5.1 million seed round, the company exclusively told TechCrunch. The round was led by DCVC and Voyager Ventures with participation from Orion Industrial Ventures, Overture and OvenEarth Ventures. The startup has secured nearly $1 million in grant funding from DARPA and the state of Colorado.
While Alta won't be able to shift rare earth refining to the U.S. overnight, Ratledge is optimistic that his company can produce enough metals to help the Pentagon breathe easier.
“To de-risk some key national security concern, you don't need hundreds of thousands of tons. You're talking single-digit-thousand tons. For the US government to be able to meet those needs is a near-term opportunity for us and other people like us,” he said.