Some startups are cultivating large fields of flowers to extract nickel, a metal used in electric vehicle batteries, from the earth in a more “green” way.
Electric vehicles are becoming increasingly popular, leading to a higher demand for nickel, one of the metals used in the production of electric vehicle batteries. Intensifying ore extraction is one way to meet this demand. However, many startups are shifting towards a more sustainable method, Interesting Engineering reported on July 5.
Startup MetalPlant harvesting flowers that absorb nickel. (Photo: MetalPlant).
Ore extraction is an energy-intensive activity that relies on fossil fuels, resulting in carbon emissions. The process of mining one ton of nickel for electric vehicles, which are marketed as “green”, can produce up to 59 tons of CO2. Therefore, some startups are turning to plants to extract nickel from the soil using phytomining.
Phytomining is a method that involves growing certain species of plants to draw metals up from the soil. Cultivation occurs in areas where the soil contains metals but at densities too low for conventional mining. Once fully grown, the plants are dried in the fields and then heated to break down the organic material. Experts then extract the metals from the ash. This method is not entirely new and has been tested in various forms, such as using microorganisms to accumulate metals or using plants to remove certain pollutants from the soil.
However, in recent years, startups have been conducting large-scale phytomining, cultivating fields spanning hundreds of hectares to sustainably extract nickel. The American company Viridian has patented technology that enables plants to accumulate significant amounts of nickel from the soil. For example, the species Odontarrhena decipiens, known for its distinctive yellow flowers, can accumulate nickel up to 2% of its biomass. A 1,000-hectare farm can yield between 250 and 550 tons of nickel, which could be valued between 3 and 7 million USD.
Another American startup, Metalplant, is taking it a step further by using its farms to sequester carbon. The company employs enhanced weathering techniques, introducing large amounts of rock dust into the fields. The rock dust absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere and forms bicarbonate, which can help store CO2 for millennia.
Co-founder of Metalplant, billionaire Sahit Muja, uses olivine, a magnesium-iron silicate from a nearby quarry, for the phytomining facility in Tropoje, Albania. In June, Metalplant deployed several dozen tons of olivine dust for its nickel extraction farms. Olivine also contains a significant amount of nickel, so the company hopes it will enhance plant productivity.
Metalplant anticipates that the farms will yield up to 400 kg of nickel per hectare, with even higher yields expected in the future. More importantly, this plant-based nickel extraction process is also expected to sequester about 200 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere.
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