Recovering rare earth elements from toxic coal ash could be a win-win for Indiana’s environment and its economy. These are used in things like electric vehicle batteries, medical equipment, jet engines and wind turbines.
A new report shows Indiana has a long way to go before extracting those elements is profitable, however.
The U.S. relies on imports for most of its rare earth elements. China produces more than half of the world’s supply and handles nearly all of the processing power.
Indiana burns more coal than any state except Texas — all of that coal waste could present and opportunity.
The new Indiana Rare Earth Recovery Council report estimates Indiana’s coal ash could hold more than $5.8 billion worth of rare earth elements. While there are ways to extract them, they’re not cheap and no company is doing this on a large scale.
Maria Mastalerz is with the Indiana Geological and Water Survey and co-authored the report. At the Rare Earth Recovery Council's meeting last month, she said Indiana will likely have to extract other valuable metals or produce other products from the ash to lower the cost.
Coal ash can be used to make things like concrete and drywall.
“Is it easy to do that? No, but that’s the way we have to think if we want to make it economically viable," Mastalerz said.
The report recommends the state develop pilot projects to test ways to recover rare earth elements. It also suggests offering tax credits for that work, pursuing federal funding and streamlining permitting for the projects.
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Mastalerz said Duke Energy has the largest coal ash impoundments, which are likely to be the most profitable. She said it's important that the state get Duke on board.
