American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:ARR)’s subsidiary has become a team member of the Critical Materials Institute (CMI), a consortium backed by the United States Department of Energy.
Western Rare Earths Corp is the latest member of the US-funded innovation hub, designed to unite universities, national laboratories and private companies in the search for tech solutions to buoy the rare earth supply chain.
Under the initiative, CMI team members can drive research and development, have the option to license their technology for deployment and provide input to CMI research programs.
As Western’s parent company, ARR is focused on developing its own scandium and rare earth assets in North America — projects with the potential to become some of the US’ largest rare earth deposits.
“Some of the brightest minds in the world”
CEO and president for the US Business Unit of American Rare Earths, Marty Weems, said: “We are delighted to be admitted as a member of the Critical Minerals Institute and to be working with some of the brightest minds in the world leading the innovation efforts to assure the supply chain for materials critical to the United States.”
American Rare Earths managing director and CEO Chris Gibbs continued: “Marty and the US team have been working diligently with various research and development partners to establish our presence with a number of the rare earth innovation efforts.
“It’s our vision to be more than just a mining company but rather a technology leader in this space: vertically integrated and one day producing the rare earth metals that are critical to our future.
“It’s our strategy to not only focus on developing our rare earth mining projects that have some of the cleanest ore in the world but to work collaboratively with R&D leaders building processing and refining capability, using new, disruptive, green and clean technologies that will provide critical minerals for future generations.
“Becoming a member of the Critical Minerals Institute is one important step in the pursuit of our vision and the journey that lays ahead.”
New recruit
Western Rare Earths joins a consortium of leading thinkers, researchers and industry players to envision new solutions for the rare earth industry.
The subsidiary is teaming with a couple of famous faces, with other recruits listed on the CMI website including:
- Industry: BorgWarner (NYSE:BWA), First Solar, Lixivia, Marshallton Research Laboratories, Rio Tinto, Solvay and Western Rare Earths;
- Universities: Arizona State University, Case Western Reserve University, Colorado School of Mines, FIPR Institute, Idaho State University, Iowa State University, Missouri S&T, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, Rutgers, University of Arizona, University of California-Davis, University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Worcester Polytechnic University; and
- National Laboratories: Ames Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Western Rare Earths’ invitation to become a CMI Team Member comes after it became a cost-sharing co-applicant to a recently approved CMI research and development project, expected to be announced in early 2022.
The project includes other CMI team members in the national lab and university categories as the primary researchers, while Western Rare Earths will provide feedstock, beneficiated rare earth mineralised ore and industry guidance.
About CMI
The Critical Materials Institute is a multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary consortium led by the Ames Laboratory. It's an Energy Innovation Hub fuelled by the US Department of Energy.
Its focus is on innovation to assure supply chains for those materials critical to clean energy technologies, with a special focus on the rare earth supply chain in the United States.
CMI described these critical materials as essential for American competitiveness in clean energy, including wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient lighting.
The department’s Critical Materials Strategy reported that supply challenges for five rare earth metals may affect clean energy technology deployment in the coming years.
As a result, CMI team members' shared goal is to find innovative technology solutions that will help avoid a supply shortage that would threaten the US clean energy industry, as well as security interests.