We are 13 students from UNIL, united by an iGEM project: an international competition in synthetic biology. This summer, we'll be working together on the project we've chosen, with a clear goal in mind: to make real progress and give it our all!

Our project, REEvolutionaTe, is all about creating a sustainable way to recover rare earth elements (REE) and tellurium (Te). To do this, we're using genetically engineered bacteria that can capture and recycle these valuable materials.

Rare earth elements and tellurium are crucial for industries like electronics, renewable energy, and metallurgy—especially when it comes to recycling from electronic waste. The problem is, traditional mining methods are very polluting, rely on large amounts of harmful chemicals, and lead to major biodiversity loss. And with global demand growing—especially for praseodymium, neodymium, and dysprosium—finding greener alternatives is more urgent than ever.

That's why we're focusing on six rare earth elements (lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, dysprosium, gadolinium, praseodymium) plus tellurium. Our aim is to design bacteria that can efficiently extract and recycle them from electronic waste (e-waste).

At the heart of all this is synthetic biology. It gives us the tools to reprogram microorganisms and turn them into tiny, powerful allies for tackling big environmental challenges in innovative and sustainable ways.

See more: REEvolutionaTe