Rare earth elements (REEs) are crucial for advanced electronics, catalysis, and clean energy, but the global market is dominated by China’s supply chain, risking the sustainability of domestic high-tech industries. Despite their name, REEs are not rare; they are widely distributed, including in the U.S. The term ‘rare’ reflects the environmental and economic challenges of separating REEs from minerals. Current industrial separation methods use solvent extraction schemes, involving many steps and harmful chemicals, making U.S. facilities economically unfeasible.

Wyonics offers a novel REE separation process using task-specific ionic liquids (ILs) as solvents. Ionic Liquids (low melting point salts) have low vapor pressure, low operating temperatures, strong solvating power, and customizability, making them ideal for a cost-effective and sustainable REE separation process. This work demonstrates the feasibility, benefits, and scalability of Wyonics’ IL-based REE separation processes.