The so-called “rare earth elements” are currently a geopolitical battleground. Cutting-edge technologies linked to digitalization, AI, quantum computing, and countless other applications depend on this critical supply. Today, whoever controls this supply controls much of the access to the most advanced technologies on the planet.

More than its location, what complicates its availability is its processability: its extraction and purification in economically efficient quantities. China clearly has the advantage, as is well known, in both availability and processability, but this landscape could be significantly altered with the help of nature, of biomimicry.

It is well known that unicellular organisms contain molecules capable of capturing metal elements in a very specific way. They are found in protein structures, cell walls, or inside cells. Inspired by these molecules, it is possible to design others with the same selective metal capture capacity: these are called MOFs (Metal Organic Frameworks), which have been the reason for the awarding of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The use of highly specific MOFs would complement traditional metal extraction processes in mining (flotation, solvent extraction, etc.) with small specific industrial units integrating them to obtain REEs. In this way, REEs would no longer be “rare” and could be extracted in a simpler and highly specific way, thus increasing their commercial availability.