This project will develop a living hybrid sorbent system to achieve highly selective, efficient, and cost-effective recovery of rare earth elements (rees) from mining wastewater

The Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded a $3,114,572 cooperative agreement to the University of Missouri System on April 23, 2026, under the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy program (CFDA 81.135) to develop a living hybrid fungal sorbent system for selective, efficient, and cost-effective recovery of rare earth elements from mining wastewater.

The project team comprises four organizations: the University of Missouri (prime recipient), Washington University in St. Louis, Texas A&M University, and Polykala LLC. The collaboration will advance the technology from laboratory breakthroughs to market-competitive rare earth element products through scale-up and demonstration using wastewater from a Missouri mining site. The living hybrid fungal sorbent enables renewable, affordable, scalable rare earth separation at reduced energy demand and chemical usage compared to current recovery methods, addressing the high cost and environmental unsustainability of conventional processes.

Performance runs through April 22, 2029, with place of performance in Columbia, Missouri.

The University of Colorado at Boulder received a sub-award effective July 6, 2026, to optimize ion-imprinted polymers for rare earth extraction, targeting selectivity greater than 3 per step and concentration increases exceeding 100-fold per step while maintaining recovery efficiency above 90 percent. The university will validate operational robustness through continuous performance testing in real mining wastewater for 7 or more days and demonstrate at least 10 reuse cycles while reducing energy demand by 30 percent relative to state-of-the-art processes.

Quasar Energy Group LLC received a sub-award on the same date to deliver process models quantifying energy consumption and CO₂-equivalent emissions for both state-of-the-art systems and the proposed recovery system, demonstrating 30 percent reduction in CO₂-equivalent emissions and 70 percent of the energy demand of existing processes.

Leveraging recent breakthroughs, the industry-academia team, composed of the university of missouri, washington university in ST louis, texas a & m university, and polykala LLC, will advance this disruptive technology to produce market-competitive REE products. Mining waste streams contain valuable energy materials, yet current recovery methods are costly, energy-intensive, and environmentally unsustainable. The team's living hybrid fungal sorbent addresses these challenges by enabling renewable, affordable, scalable, robust, and low-energy REE separation. Technology scale-up and demonstration using wastewater from a missouri mining site will demonstrate broad application potential. The process minimizes chemical usage, environmental hazards, and energy demand, uniquely empowering the REE manufacturing under the US regulations. By valorizing critical materials from domestic sources, the project transforms the US REE industries, creates a domestic supply chain, reduces reliance on imports, and supports economic growth and job creation. The outcome will enhance the US economic and energy security, and advance energy and infrastructure resiliency through leapfrogging technology innovation in material and process design for REE recovery.