The Norwegian research organisation SINTEF will investigate whether rare earth element minerals contribute to pollution in costal areas. Research scientists from Norway, Denmark and Germany are taking part in the project.
The rare earth elements (REEs) are also referred to as the ‘black gold’ of the 21st century. They constitute key metals utilised in high-tech technologies and are crucial if we are to achieve a greener and more efficient industrial sector and implement the green transition.
Medicines, electric vehicles, mobile phones, wind turbines, fuel additives and fertilisers, as well as other high-tech industries, all make use of REEs such as scandium and gadolinium. But can their use also be harmful to life in our fjords and oceans, our environment and the food we eat? Does the way we use REEs make it inevitable that they will end up in the sea?
Read more at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Image: Research Scientist Julia Farkas at SINTEF seen here testing whether mobile phones are leaking substances into seawater, and analysing the concentrations these substances are found in. The results will tell us something about how they impact on the environment. (Photo: Anne-Lise Aakervik)