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Find terre rarely Things are becoming increasingly difficult for Europe. There Chinesealone, currently guarantees that 49% of the requirement actual sum of critical raw materials Last year’s global and geopolitical crises have made the situation worse. The situation is so serious that last July the Italian government, through the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy, announced that it would do so National mines reopen to obtain elements for electric car batteries. Rare materials like Lithium, graphite, uranium, cobalt, titanium or tungsten They are becoming increasingly necessary for many sustainable products and processes.
However, it is clear that the The cost of the impact of this mineral extraction is very high: both in ecological and economic terms. From this need and from thatIntuition of two physicists from the Ca’ Foscari University in VeniceSo an experiment is created that promises it Completely replace these scarce elements with composite materials. The impact of such an undertaking on the entire national system could have significant implications from an economic, strategic and geopolitical perspective, since Italy would become the reference point for industries operating in the context of the ecological transition.
Because the price of lithium has collapsed
The supply of metal used to make electric vehicle batteries is so large that it exceeds demand
An innovative approach: replacing rare earths (and not looking for them).
As the Minister of Economic Affairs explained Adolfo Urso In a hearing before the chamber last July, he saidThe European Union relies almost exclusively on imports of these scarce materials. And he is preparing a plan for this. As the Minister states: “he defined 34 critical raw materials16 of which were also taken into account strategically for their relevance in the ecological and digital transition, intended for aerospace and defense, but also important for the gap between global supply and expected demand.
“Our country’s mines can help find the 16 strategic mines, even if they are in mines that closed over 30 years ago due to their environmental impact or reduced profit margins.”
Adolfo Urso, Minister of Economy and Made in Italy
Per Stefano BonettiFull Professor of Nateria Physics at Ca’ Foscari and representative of Rara Ets FoundationA non-profit company founded to promote and conduct research into sustainable technologies and materials, it is necessary to completely replace rare earths with composites and alloys that can same properties. “We have invented a revolutionary way compared to what already existed – indicates the professor – sReplacing a rare material with a new material seems to be an enormous challenge, considering that the possible material combinations are around 10 to 80, that is, as many as there are atoms in the universe. We are patenting a method based on software and an experimental approach.” The problem is indeed how to combine these alternative materials to get the rare ones and which method adopt to make it best. Thanks to a Mixture of skillsThe RaRa team has developed a research project that includes matter physics, theoretical physics and computer science an algorithm that can optimize the search for these materials much more efficient than before.
This is how the RaRa Foundation method works
This solution arises first of all from the synergy of skills. “The original idea was mine – explains Bonetti – I am a colleague and materials physicist Guido Caldarelli, specialized in network physics: From our experience, we have included both other materials physicists (which are still the most important expertise) as well as, on the industrial side, entrepreneurs, lawyers and competent production sectors. Our team’s capabilities also range from applied research to marketing development.”. The RaRa Foundation’s innovation seems so promising that Bonetti was invited to oneHearing in the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chamber of Deputies on the issue of the supply of rare earths, where he presented the foundation’s activities. And given the interest aroused, the foundation is also thinking about it Go-to-market phase for your product.
Bonetti continues: “Let’s get thisabundance: large amounts of readily available elements such as silicon, aluminum, iron or potassium. Even if they are taken from somewhere, they remain elements of general use. And how we put them together is the secret recipe of the algorithm: Out of an infinite number of combinations, we have found one that we expect will lead us to the creation of any replacement material in a few years.”
Rare earths: Everything is interchangeable
According to the teachers of Ca’ Foscari Any scarce material can potentially be replaced through this method. And some attempts are already at an advanced stage: “Let’s think about it Magnets: The components of the headphones contain neomidium, the strongest magnet there is. They are used in the Tesla battery like in the Airpods: We want the ecological and digital change, but use materials with a high environmental impact. Our goal is to produce magnets without neomidium”. But Bonetti clarifies this “Our algorithm is so general that applies to every materialsuch as lithium, manganese or coltan”. The foundation is now looking for funding for such a development: “We have a lot of prospects, but right now they are just prospects.” – admits Bonetti -. The investment was financed with tens of thousands of euros, but we are demanding development funds amounting to several million.” Institutional and private interest is certainly very high: “The aim of the European Union and the United States is primarily to shift chip production from China, the dominant player.”, concludes Bonetti. The House Foreign Affairs Committee, which questioned the professor, will complete its investigation in a year and then draw its conclusions. The foundation is now on its way to industrial practice.
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