Highlights

• Researchers develop a novel sodium-neodymium fluoride compound that eliminates hazardous hydrogen fluoride in rare earth metal extraction.
• New process reduces reaction temperature and achieves 70-80% yield of high-purity neodymium metal using a water-based synthesis.
• Breakthrough potentially disrupts Chinese dominance in rare earth metal production and supports more sustainable, decentralized manufacturing.

A research team led by Dr. Anirudha Karati (opens in a new tab) at Ames National Laboratory (opens in a new tab) has achieved a critical milestone in rare earth element (REE) metallurgy: the production of neodymium (Nd) metal using a novel fluoride salt feedstock that entirely eliminates the use of hazardous hydrogen fluoride (HF). Published today in Nature Communications, this breakthrough paves the way for safer, greener, and more scalable REE metal manufacturing, especially for clean energy and defense applications.

The Breakthrough

Instead of relying on traditional RE-fluoride feedstocks, which require corrosive HF in their synthesis, the researchers developed a sodium-neodymium fluoride compound (NaNdF₄) that can be prepared via a simple water-based process using acetate, nitrate, or chloride salts. The key innovation lies in the material's ability to self-generate a flux (NaF) during thermal processing, reducing the reaction temperature below 900 °C. Through calciothermic reduction, the team successfully extracted high-purity neodymium metal without generating HF gas, with yields reaching 70–80%.

What Does This Mean?

In lay terms, this process removes one of the most dangerous steps in rare earth metal production—handling of HF, a substance known for causing severe chemical burns and regulatory hurdles. By proving that REE metals like neodymium can be produced without HF, this study represents a paradigm shift toward more sustainable and decentralized production systems. It also opens the door to safer industrial REE production in the U.S. and allied nations seeking to reduce dependence on Chinese-controlled supply chains.

What About Scale?

While the findings are promising, scale-up challenges remain. Impurities in the metal and material loss during slag separation must be addressed, and yields need to be optimized for industrial throughput. Still, the authors note that this is just the beginning. The next steps include expanding the process to other critical REEs like praseodymium and dysprosium and integrating the method into pilot-scale systems. If adopted broadly, this could upend China's longstanding advantage in rare earth refining and help secure a resilient Western REE supply chain.

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