Californian start-up, Aether, has raised US$49M led by Jay Zaveri at Natural Capital, and Trevor Zimmerman at Unless Partners, to power the next industrial revolution by helping extract rare metals and create new materials.
While the firm plans to first focus on lithium extraction, its technology will be able to mine rare earth metals, titanium, and other critical but previously inaccessible minerals. The technology employs synthetic biology, machine-learning, and high-throughput robotics to map millions of enzyme-reaction combinations.
“Nature invented nano-scale machinery called proteins that can move and rearrange atoms. At Aether, we’re engineering these proteins to go beyond what nature intended.” Pavle Jeremic, founder, and chief executive said in the statement.
The firm’s platform has potential applications in different areas, like defence, by increasing the effectiveness of ballistic materials. In mining, Aether’s molecular assemblers can introduce themselves to a brine and bond specifically to metal atoms, releasing them into a new, concentrated solution. Aether claims their method eliminates the need for infrastructure that can take years to build, opting instead for portable, modular, shipping containers for refining and extraction.
New extraction methods have the potential to change how mining technology defies conventional practices. Societal pressure, environmental requirements, and strict governance need for mining firms to start developing new and “smart” extraction methods that will also reduce the sector’s carbon footprint.
Aether’s technology, which reduces costs while increasing efficiency, can play a role in these sweeping changes in the sector. At this point, it is premature to say that Aether’s technology is the future, but it could play a significant role in the future of mining practises.
Aether is expanding the level of research into nanotechnology, which includes leveraging artificial intelligence, a step above the traditional mining models. The capital raised for this platform indicates the growing demand for the future of mining practices that are forward-thinking, efficient, and financially sustainable. As analysts expect a greater need for electric vehicles, batteries, and renewable technologies that require metals like lithium, the market will need more technological advancements to assist in meeting demand, while adhering to environmental regulations.
