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Technology INNOVATION The forefront of innovation Through research innovation testing and evaluation INL helps industry apply new energy solutions. As a strong multiprogram national laboratory INL is internationally recognized as a valuable science and engineering asset. The following pages describe cutting-edge developments from the past year as well as the people behind the technologies. Recovering critical materials INL helped develop a new technology that aids the recycling recovery and extraction of rare earth minerals. These elements have a key function in permanent magnets used in cars cellphones and hard disk drives. The technology uses a combination of hollow fiber membranes organic solvents and neutral extractants to selectively recover more than 90 percent of rare earth elements such as neodymium dysprosium and praseodymium. The single-step process to recover these elements from scrap magnets is more environmentally friendly and has the potential to be more cost-effective than conventional approaches. Licensed to U.S. Rare Earths Inc. it is the first commercially licensed technology developed through the Critical Materials Institute a DOE Energy Innovation Hub. CMI explores ways to assure supply chains of materials critical to clean energy technologies such as wind turbines electric vehicles efficient lighting and advanced batteries. The Critical Materials Institute directly leverages INLs expertise in nuclear fuel recycling because rare earth elements and other critical energy materials have chemistry similar to components in used nuclear fuel. 16 90 AMOUNT OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS THAT CAN BE RECOVERD USING INL-DEVELOPED TECHNOLOGY P E R C E N T