Tech Startups Aim to Unseat China's Dominance on Rare Earth Materials

As the demand for technology grows, so does the demand for the rare earth materials that power it. For decades, China has maintained a grip on the rare earth industry. The country controls 87 percent of global rare earths refining capacity, according to the International Energy Agency. Now, start-up tech companies are looking to transform that landscape. 

Assistant MGE professor Isabel Barton recently spoke to Taipei Times about the potential sea-change in the industry.

“The existing rare earths refining process is a nightmare,” Barton said. “That’s why there are so many companies promising new methods, because we need new ones.”

According to Taipei Times, if one or more novel processing technologies succeed as hoped by 2025, they could slash reliance on Chinese rare earths technology and its toxic by-products, while also bolstering plans by Western firms to charge premium prices for the strategic minerals.

On a former US Air Force base in Louisiana, Ucore Rare Metals Inc aims to process rare earths by mid-2025 using a technology known as RapidSX, which it says is at least three times faster than solvent extraction, produces no hazardous chemical waste and requires only one-third of the physical space.

“Our goal is to re-establish a North American rare earths supply chain,” Ucore chief operating officer Michael Schrider said to Taipei Times.