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The Feds Are Trying to Get Plants to Mine Metal Through Their Roots
Some species can absorb extreme amounts of nickel from soils. Such “phytomining” could help provide batteries essential for the renewable revolution.
Grow a bunch of the European plant Alyssum bertolonii or the tropical Phyllanthus rufuschaneyi and burn the biomass, and you end up with ash that’s loaded with nickel. ARPA-E is eying a specific kind of dirt to try these plants in, known as ultramafic soil, which is high in iron, cobalt, chromium, and nickel. At the moment, ARPA-E is just focusing on phytomining nickel, but says that it could in theory also explore ways for plants to extract cobalt, copper, or lithium.
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