TERRA: Sustainably Developed

SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

Target 6.3: Improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials. [1]

Red mud, a caustic byproduct of aluminum production (pH 10–13), is often stored in open ponds where it can contaminate groundwater and soil with heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium, and vanadium. [2]

Our TERRA workflow integrates genetically engineered Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to selectively bind and immobilize REEs, reducing overall metal and chemical load in water pathways. By extracting critical metals and neutralizing waste residue, our system addresses water pollution and supports safe reuse across industrial sites, an imperative underscored by high-profile failures of red-mud tailings impoundments (e.g., Ajka, Hungary, 2010). [3]

SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy

Target 7.a: Enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology. [4]

While our platform does not directly generate clean energy, it provides essential upstream support by recovering REEs for wind turbines (neodymium) and electrified transport (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium) used in high-performance permanent magnets. [5]

By prioritizing local REE recovery, we help reduce the carbon footprint and supply-chain risks linked to conventional mining and long shipping routes, supporting wider adoption of renewables. [6]

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

Target 9.4: Upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency. [7]

Target 9.5: Enhance scientific research and upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors. [8]

TERRA innovates beyond traditional REE recovery by using engineered microalgae expressing a lanthanide-binding construct, within a modular bioreactor that can be retrofitted to alumina sites. Conventional red-mud processing often relies on roasting and/or strong-acid leaching, with drawbacks such as high reagent consumption and substantial effluents; our approach aims to avoid those issues. [9][10]

SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

Target 12.4: Achieve environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle. [11]

Target 12.5: Substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse. [12]

Globally, alumina refining now generates on the order of ~175 million tonnes of red mud per year, adding to multi-billion-tonne stockpiles. [13]

TERRA’s bioprocess converts this hazardous waste into a feedstock for REE recovery and safer mineral residues—aligned with circular-economy strategies that reduce land take and contamination risks associated with long-term storage. [14]

SDG 13: Climate Action

Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning. [15]

REEs are essential for clean-energy technologies, including wind turbines and EV traction motors, yet conventional REE production has high life-cycle impacts. [16]

By recovering REEs from waste with an algae-driven process, TERRA can avoid new mining and its associated emissions and land disturbance. Our project modeling indicates that shifting to bioreactor-based recovery could decrease total life-cycle CO₂ for key metals by ≥40% relative to conventional mining. [T1]

SDG 15: Life on Land

Target 15.3: Combat desertification, restore degraded land, and strive to achieve land degradation neutrality. [17]

Target 15.5: Take urgent action to reduce degradation of natural habitats and halt biodiversity loss. [18]

Bauxite-residue storage areas occupy extensive land and can degrade habitats; major spills have caused acute alkaline damage to soils and waterways, with documented ecological effects. [19][20]

By converting red mud to safer, neutralized mineral fractions and extracting metals, TERRA helps free land for restoration and reduces long-term ecological risk.