On 1 December 2022, President Alar Karis visited the production facility of Biotatec OÜ, which — in cooperation with Taasterahastu OÜ — secured €1.94 million from the Applied Research Programme with the goal of advancing the technology for producing nano-fractions of precious metals from e-waste to market readiness.
In his Facebook post, the President highlighted that demand for rare earth metals will only increase during the green transition, yet known reserves are becoming depleted. Separating metals from waste using existing methods is highly energy-intensive and costly, which makes developing new solutions essential. In Tartu, researchers are doing precisely that — bio-mining rare earth metals. It turns out that various industrial and electronic waste streams can be extraordinarily valuable, as the need for critical raw materials continues to grow. While bacteria were once used to make beer, bread, and yoghurt, they are now being deployed to extract the necessary metals from red mud — the residue of aluminium production — or from e-waste. Into the reactor shown in the photographs, e-waste powder, water, and bacteria are added, after which a bioleaching process begins that can last from a few hours to a few days. Bioleaching achieves high efficiency, and costs are reduced because agricultural residues — such as the by-products of maize or starch production — can serve as feed for the bacteria. Tartu-based BiotaTec’s plan is to grow with EU funding and to establish a solar-powered technology development centre in Estonia.
Text drawn from President Alar Karis’s Facebook post of 1 December 2022.
The project, developed in cooperation between Biotatec OÜ and Taasterahastu OÜ, secured €1.94 million from the Applied Research Programme.