The inspiration behind this work is what the group sees as a major barrier to advancing technology: the short supply of rhodium and palladium, globally, and their high prices.

Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics have shown that mining the Main Belt of asteroids that orbit between Mars and Jupiter could be done profitably.

Platinum is a key ingredient to help clean even the most stubborn toxins from wastewater.

The Wyoming Innovation Center is a place for companies and researchers to work on developing asphalt, graphene, graphite, agricultural char, and carbon fibre, and extract rare earths from coal and coal byproducts.