Highlights

• China's Northern Rare Earth, Baogang Group, and Tsinghua University collaborate on innovative microbial-driven rare earth separation technology
• New R&D base establishes two pilot lines for processing rare earth tailings and urban e-waste, aiming to commercialize green extraction methods
• Strategic initiative reinforces China's global leadership in rare earth recycling and circular innovation technologies

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In a strategic move with global implications, China’s rare earth giants Northern Rare Earth (opens in a new tab) (CREG), Baogang Group (opens in a new tab), and Tsinghua University (opens in a new tab) have jointly unveiled a new Rare Earth Biometallurgy R&D Base at Northern Rare Earth’s Huamei refining facility.

The initiative marks a significant step toward industrializing Tsinghua’s groundbreaking microbial separation technology and closing the loop on China’s rare earth recycling efforts.

Factors and Forces

The new base is a fusion of three major forces: (1) Tsinghua’s cutting-edge biosynthetic methods, (2) Northern Rare Earth’s full-spectrum industrial platform, and (3) the application ecosystem of the Rare Earth New Materials Innovation Center.

This tri-party integration targets the sector’s “last mile” bottleneck—transforming lab-scale breakthroughs into scalable, low-carbon industrial solutions.

Tsinghua University professor and Chinese Academy of Sciences academician Zhang Hongjie (opens in a new tab), along with Baogang Chairwoman Meng Fanying, presided over the launch. Senior leaders from Tsinghua’s science and collaboration offices, Baogang’s executive team, and Chinese Rare Earth Society President Li Bo were also in attendance.

Disruptive Innovation Used to Advance Industry---and Monopoly

Zhang emphasized the disruptive potential of microbial-driven rare earth separation, first demonstrated by his Tsinghua team in 2019, as a game-changer for green extraction. The technique enables the highly selective, low-cost, and environmentally friendly recovery of rare earth elements from tailings and urban waste, utilizing engineered microorganisms. The technology has drawn both national and institutional attention.

The new biometallurgy center has already constructed two pilot lines: one capable of processing 10 tons of rare earth tailings per year, and another targeting urban e-waste volumes. Both are designed to validate the viability of biological extraction and significantly raise the value-added of recovered rare earths.

The partners committed to accelerating commercialization, refining microbial engineering systems, and jointly tackling key technical hurdles to support China’s “Two Rare Earth Bases” strategy—positioning Baotou as both a global production hub and innovation engine.

Critical Outlook

This alliance reinforces China’s dominance not just in rare earth mining but in circular innovation. As Western supply chains struggle to build end-to-end recycling capacity, China is now industrializing next-generation biotechnologies to reclaim strategic minerals from waste.

The global race for rare earth sustainability just narrowed. And China is sprinting ahead.

Source: Baogang Daily (opens in a new tab)

Translated and reported by Rare Earth Exchanges.