CMI researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Colorado School of Mines, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Yale University and Eck Industries conducted the research for this highlight
Achievement
Materials science and economic analysis informed the potential for Al-Ce alloy technology to improve rare earth element (REE) supply chains and reduce the energy required for some aluminum alloy production.
Significance and Impact
- Growth in La/Ce demand and value could shift the point of profit for rare earth mines towards lighter REEs and stabilize Nd and other critical REE market.
- Informs the community about sustainability gains to be captured with expanded non-critical rare earth demand.
- Continued investigations of lower cost alloying methods like direct reduction will further improve sustainability gains and make better use of domestic supply.
Hub Target Addressed
This work helps communicate the economic, scientific, and technological principles needed to guide the extraction of materials as co-products and by-products
