SBIR Phase I: Assessing and Enhancing Microbiological Rare Earth Element Recovery for Domestic Production

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to establish a domestic supply chain for rare earth elements and critical materials required for electric vehicles, wind turbines, consumer electronics, and defense systems. This project develops a biological approach to extract and separate rare earth elements from industrial by-products such as magnet manufacturing scrap and discarded electronics, materials currently shipped overseas or sent to landfills. By using microorganisms as natural extraction tools, this approach eliminates the need for hazardous chemicals, high temperatures, and energy-intensive processes common in conventional methods, thus reducing production costs. The first commercial market targeted is permanent magnet manufacturers, who currently dispose of or export significant quantities of rare earth-containing by-products. This technology converts these materials into high-purity rare earth materials for reintroduction into domestic manufacturing, reducing import dependence and strengthening national supply chain resilience. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses the challenge of recovering and separating rare earth elements using an engineered microbial platform. Conventional rare earth extraction requires concentrated mineral acids, organic solvents, and high-temperature processing steps that generate large volumes of hazardous chemicals and are economically viable only for high-grade ore sources. The proposed research leverages bacteria engineered to produce specialized small molecules that selectively dissolve and bioaccumulate rare earth elements from industrial by-products, including magnet manufacturing scrap and shredded electronics at ambient temperature and neutral pH. Three interconnected technical objectives are pursued: first, engineering genetic modifications to increase the microorganism's rare earth extraction and intracellular storage capacity, achieving sufficient recovery concentrations for scale-up; second, developing downstream purification methods using multi-stage filtration and ion exchange chromatography to intracellular rare earth mineral granules at industrially-relevant yields; and third, generating microbial strains with industry-standard selectivity between light and heavy rare earth element subgroups, enabling differentiated high-value product streams. Successful completion will advance the technology from early proof-of-concept to a validated bench-scale prototype ready for pilot-scale development. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.