Phytoremediation to Clean the Environment and Mine Critical Materials
1 min read
Summary
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are investigating whether plants could help clean contaminated soils and provide a source of nickel for the electric vehicle (EV) industry.
They are using a process known as phytomining, where plants that accumulate specific contaminants are used to clean soils, and are particularly targeting soils contaminated with nickel.
Starting with Camelina sativa, the team aims to enhance the plant’s preference for accumulating nickel, with genes from the accumulator Odontarrhena, to create a fast-growing plant that can also be used as a nickel feedstock for EVs.
While Odontarrhena was not selected due to its slow growth and invasive characteristics, the researchers are also looking into the best soil amendments to help boost Camelina sativa’s nickel-accumulating potential.
They estimate that phytomining could provide 20-30% of nickel needs for EVs for the next 50 years.
