An SRI researcher investigates a microbe that can harvest rare earth elements while also cleaning up mine tailings.
Julie Bert, director of SRI’s Hardware Research and Technology Lab, runs a unique project that uses microbes to sequester rare earth elements using living filters. This innovation solves two big problems in sustainability: cleaning water and extracting rare earth elements for batteries, electronics, and magnets. Many of these rare earth elements will be critical to building an energy system that is less reliant on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.
Learn more about the Hardware Research and Technology Lab here.
“We are trying to change the direction of climate change so that future generations can experience the same kind of world that we have today.” — Julie Bert
