The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - March 22, 2024
A researcher samples nickel-rich sap from a hyperaccumulating tree on the island of Borneo.
Will we soon be able to farm some of the nickel needed for lithium-ion batteries? The U.S. Department of Energy is investing $10 million to find out.
The idea of using plants to extract nickel from soil is not as far-fetched as it may sound. Researchers have identified plants in Malaysia known as hyperaccumulators that thrive in nickel-rich environments and suck up battery metals.
The leaves of the Antidesma montis‐silam, a fast-growing tree that grows on the island of Borneo, contain as much as 3.3% nickel and 4.6% manganese – and the sap has much higher concentrations of these metals.
Scientists are investigating the potential of harvesting nickel, manganese, and other metals pulled up from the soil by hyperaccumulators through a hybrid farming-mining process called phytomining.
To carry this research forward in the U.S., DOE is funding a project led by the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to establish phytomining as a competitive domestic source of nickel that, along with mining, can reduce America's reliance on imports of this critical battery metals.
"In order to accomplish the goals laid out by President Biden to meet our clean energy targets, and support our economy and national security, it's going to take all-hands-on-deck approach and innovative solutions," said ARPA-E Director Evelyn Wang. "By exploring phytomining to extract nickel as the first target critical material, ARPA-E aims to achieve a cost-competitive and low-carbon footprint extraction approach needed to support the energy transition."
ARPA-E's new nickel farming project has been named Plant Hyperaccumulators to Mine Nickel-Enriched Soils, or PHYTOMINES.
PHYTOMINES is focused:
• Developing technologies to optimize bio-related systems that regulate the availability and uptake of nickel by hyperaccumulator plants.
• Understanding the interrelationships of the geologic, ecological, and economic factors that affect the potential of phytomining.
ARPA-E says phytomining optimizations could be interventions in the soil or plant microbiome, or the development of plant traits that enhance nickel accumulation rates.
The research agency envisions these projects within PHYTOMINES as early-stage proof-of-concepts that will like be established in closed or open-air laboratories, greenhouses, or confined fields where light, humidity, and temperature regimes can be fully programmed.
The project will also be investigating hyperaccumulating plant species of interest, mineral characteristics in soil, and land ownership data for natural habitats and adjacent areas viable for phytomining.
To strengthen the development of hybrid battery metals farming and mining technologies, PHYTOMINES is encouraging partnerships between farmers, mining companies, battery manufacturers, scientists, and more.
Visit ARPA-E Exchange to find out more about funding opportunities for bringing innovative new ideas to PHYTOMINES.
With more than 16 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration and technology metals.
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