We Have a Limited Ability to Acquire, Concentrate and Substitute Chemical Elements in Processes
The cost of materials is often dominated by the cost to obtain their constituent elements. What presents commercially as the “critical minerals problem” masks a larger scientific bottleneck on how we acquire, concentrate, and substitute chemical elements.
Foundational Capabilities (3)
E-waste represents a significant opportunity to recapture and reuse rare earth elements that are in short supply.
Create an industrial center of excellence focused on the practical separation of Lanthanides to distribute this knowledge as a public good.
Develop high-strength permanent magnets not made of rare-earth elements. Currently the high-strength magnets underpinning many technologies (e.g., hard disk drives, mobile phones, electric vehicle motors) are all made out of neodymium, a rare earth element at risk of supply chain shortages and environmental issues.