Rare Earth Biometallurgy Joint R&D Base Established in Baotou

On June 8, the Symposium on the Integrated Development of Scientific and Technological Innovation and Industrial Innovation for the Construction of "Two Rare Earth Bases" was held in Baotou. Academicians, experts, and professionals from industry associations, universities, research institutes, innovation platforms, and rare earth enterprises gathered in Baotou to witness the landmark achievements in the construction of the "Two Rare Earth Bases," analyze the current situation facing the rare earth industry, discuss development strategies, gather momentum to accelerate the construction of the "Two Rare Earth Bases," and drive new and greater breakthroughs in the innovative development of the rare earth industry.

During the event, meetings of the Academic Committee and Council of Lucheng Laboratory, the Expert Advisory Committee and Council of the Rare Earth New Materials Technology Innovation Center, and the Academic Committee of the Bayan Obo National Key Laboratory were held concurrently.

Since 2023, Baotou's rare earth industry has experienced rapid clustering and development, with further enhancement of its raw material supply security capabilities. It has established the largest rare earth new materials base in China in terms of capacity and is accelerating its progress towards becoming a globally leading rare earth application base. The output value of the rare earth industry has surpassed the 100 billion yuan threshold, representing a 63.3% increase compared to 2022, demonstrating significant progress in advancing the construction of the "Two Rare Earth Bases."

The day before, on June 7, the Rare Earth Biometallurgy Joint R&D Base of the Rare Earth Industry Technology R&D Center of China Northern Rare Earth and the Rare Earth New Materials Technology Innovation Center was inaugurated at the Smelting Branch of China Northern Rare Earth (Huamei Company), marking a solid step forward in China's efforts to achieve green and efficient recovery of rare earth resources.

It is reported that the Rare Earth Biometallurgy Joint R&D Base of the Rare Earth New Materials Technology Innovation Center is dedicated to developing rare earth bio-separation technologies. Through advanced methods such as microbial synthesis, it aims to construct an engineered microbial system to achieve efficient leaching, enrichment, and separation of rare earth tailings and urban rare earth scrap. Currently, demonstration lines for processing 10-ton-level rare earth tailings and ton-level rare earth scrap annually have been completed and experimentally verified. The project will provide innovative technological support for the green and efficient separation of rare earth tailings/scrap, significantly improving the recycling efficiency of rare earth resources and the added value of products.

It is understood that this year, Tsinghua University will collaborate with China Northern Rare Earth to advance the verification of a 1,000-ton-level processing capacity for rare earth biometallurgy. Leveraging Tsinghua University's internationally leading synthetic biology-driven rare earth recycling technology, China Northern Rare Earth's application scenarios and supporting services across the entire industry chain, and the technology transfer platform of the Rare Earth New Materials Technology Innovation Center, this cooperation model of "frontier innovation at universities + industrial implementation at enterprises + collaborative empowerment through platforms" will effectively bridge the "last mile" from the laboratory to the production line.