A research team led by University of Miami College of Engineering professor Fateme Rezaei has been selected through the U.S. Department of Energy's Genesis Mission to develop an AI-assisted approach for recovering critical rare-earth elements used in many clean-energy technologies.
The elements include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, which are key components in the powerful magnets found in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines and electronics.
"These minerals are the essential, hard-to-replace building blocks of modern technology and the clean-energy transition," Rezaei said. "Even in trace amounts, their unique magnetic, optical and catalytic properties make them crucial for manufacturing everything from smart electronics to defense systems."
Many of these valuable elements are already embedded in products that have reached the end of their life cycle. When an electric vehicle motor is discarded, for example, important materials often remain trapped inside. Through this work, Rezaei's team will develop a more efficient way to recover and reuse those elements.
As demand for these materials grows, so does the need for reliable domestic sources.
"Because global supply chains and refining capacity are currently concentrated in just a few international markets, developing domestic recovery methods is vital to securing economic independence and stabilizing high-tech manufacturing," Rezaei said.
The researchers are developing an acid-free process that uses engineered magnetic materials to selectively capture rare-earth elements from low-grade domestic ores and discarded products. The approach is designed to replace traditional separation methods, which often rely on large amounts of chemicals and energy, with a more sustainable alternative.
Once the minerals are captured, magnetic fields are used to release and separate them for recovery and reuse. Artificial intelligence will act as a research accelerator, helping the team identify the most effective material designs and operating conditions for separating rare-earth elements. This will significantly reduce trial-and-error experimentation.
The University of Miami–led team includes University of Miami faculty members Ali Rownaghi and Minghui Cheng Yale professor Amir Haji-Akbari, and Oak Ridge scientist Syed Islam.
The project is part of the Department of Energy's Genesis Mission, a national initiative that brings together government, industry, academia and national laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery through artificial intelligence, advanced computing and scientific research infrastructure. The University of Miami team was among 278 projects selected nationwide out of more than 5,000 submitted applications through the highly competitive program.
