Battelle Separates Lanthanum and Neodymium Above 90% Purity With Engineered Proteins

Highlights

• Battelle used engineered calcium-binding proteins to achieve single-stage, chelator-free separation of lanthanum and neodymium at greater than 90% purity and yield.
• The research, backed by DARPA's EMBER program, tested simulated leachates and industrial feedstocks but has not demonstrated separation of strategically critical heavy rare earths like dysprosium and terbium.
• Conventional rare earth separation requires many solvent-extraction stages; biological approaches could potentially reduce chemical consumption and equipment if scaled.
• Key commercial metrics—protein lifetime, throughput, cost per kilogram, and regeneration cycles—have not been disclosed, leaving industrialization timelines unclear.
• Analysts note that matching China's separation dominance may require abandoning conventional chemistry entirely, making biotech approaches strategically significant despite early-stage limitations.