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Rare earth elements (REEs) and tellurium (Te) are critical raw materials essential to the electronics, solar, metallurgic, and chemical industries, yet their extraction remains economically and environmentally challenging
Most current methods for recovering these elements from e-waste or from mining byproducts are inefficient and polluting.
Microorganisms mostly foundd in the ground have shown the ability to recover REEs and Te using specific proteins and somtimes convert them into reusable forms.
With global demand rising, especially for praseodymium (Pr³⁺), neodymium (Nd³⁺), and dysprosium (Dy³⁺), it is more important than ever to find innovative and sustainable recovery solutions for such metals from e-waste.
Our iGEM 2025 project addresses this challenge by developing a synthetic biology approach using engineered bacteria, that enables the sustainable extraction and recycling of REEs and Te from electronic waste.