US govt to award Aclara with federal funding for AI rare earths seperation project
TSX-listed rare earths developer Aclara Resources has been selected to receive federal funding from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to advance AI-driven heavy rare earths processing.
The US DoE's Genesis Mission initiative aims to develop AI technologies that can optimise domestic rare earths separation and successful Phase 1 projects have the opportunity to advance to Phase II for additional federal funding.
Aclara's Phase I project called "AI-Enabled Process Optimization for Multi-Feed Rare Earth Separation" aims to apply AI to optimize the multi-feed separation of rare earth elements, improving process efficiency, product quality and operational stability while accelerating the commercialization of domestic rare earth processing technologies.
"This selection by the US DoE is an important milestone for Aclara and validates our vision of combining advanced process engineering with artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen the critical minerals supply chain. The project will help accelerate the development of next-generation operating tools for heavy rare earth separation while reinforcing our broader strategy of building a secure, resilient and technologically advanced rare earth supply chain across the Americas," says Aclara CEO Ramón Barúa.
Aclara's project will develop and validate an AI-assisted digital twin capable of optimizing complex rare earth solvent extraction circuits under dynamic operating conditions. The project will leverage operational data generated at Aclara's rare earth separation pilot plant at Virginia Tech and combine it with advanced process simulation capabilities developed by Argonne National Laboratory.
The resulting platform is expected to improve process stability, increase recovery and product purity, reduce operator intervention and accelerate the scale-up of domestic rare earth separation technologies.
The project will be executed through a collaboration between Aclara Technologies, Argonne National Laboratory and Virginia Tech, combining industrial expertise, national laboratory capabilities and academic research to demonstrate the application of AI in commercial-scale rare earth processing.
Meanwhile, the Genesis Mission is an historic national initiative led by the US DoE that is building the world's most powerful integrated science discovery platform.
By bringing together government, industry and academia, the initiative seeks to accelerate breakthroughs in energy, scientific discovery and national security through the integration of AI, supercomputing, quantum systems and advanced scientific instruments.
