---
title: "Bacteria Revolutionising Rare Metal Extraction for Green Tech"
publisher: "Stockmark.IT"
author: "Stockmark.IT Website"
published: "2024-08-26T05:03:35+00:00"
modified: "2024-08-25T20:13:27+00:00"
date: 2024-08-26
canonical: "https://stockmark.it/bacteria-revolutionising-rare-metal-extraction-for-green-tech/"
category: "Climate"
categories: ["Climate", "Technology"]
image: "https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/stencil.default-2024-08-25T211254.051.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1"
format: "news"
language: "en-GB"
---

# Bacteria Revolutionising Rare Metal Extraction for Green Tech

**Published:** August 26, 2024
**Author:** Stockmark.IT Website
**Categories:** Climate, Technology
**Featured image:** ![Abstract green digital code streaming down a black background. from Stockmark.it](https://i0.wp.com/stockmark.it/wp-content/uploads/stencil.default-2024-08-25T211254.051.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&quality=89&ssl=1)

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As the world grapples with the pressing issue of climate change, scientists at the University of Edinburgh have forged an unconventional partnership in their quest for sustainable solutions. By harnessing the power of bacteria, they aim to extract rare metals crucial for the development of green technology, addressing the potential scarcity of raw materials needed for turbines, electric cars, and solar panels.

Professor Louise Horsfall, chair of sustainable biotechnology at Edinburgh, emphasises the increasing reliance on metals as we transition away from petrochemicals and towards electricity for heating, transport, and power. Photovoltaics, drones, 3D printing machines, hydrogen fuel cells, wind turbines, and electric car motors all require rare metals that are essential to their operation.

Geopolitical factors also play a role, with China controlling not only the main supplies of rare earth elements but also dominating their processing. To circumvent these challenges, scientists stress the need for a circular economy where minerals are reused whenever possible to avoid rapid depletion of finite resources.

Microbes hold the key to this recycling process, according to Professor Horsfall. Certain bacteria can synthesise metal nanoparticles as a detoxification mechanism, latching onto metal atoms and expelling them as nanoparticles to avoid poisoning. By leveraging these naturally occurring strains, Horsfall’s team has successfully extracted manganese, nickel, lithium, cobalt, and nickel from electronic waste and car batteries.

Looking ahead, the researchers plan to use gene-edited bacterial strains to enhance metal output and achieve separate extraction of cobalt and nickel. Demonstrating that these recycled metals can be used as constituents in new batteries or devices will be a crucial step in establishing a circular economy for green technologies.

With new legislation mandating significant levels of recycled metals in the manufacturing of green technology devices by the next decade, the role of bacteria in achieving these goals cannot be overstated. As the world strives for a sustainable future, this innovative approach to rare metal extraction offers a glimmer of hope in the fight against climate change.

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