International Meeting on Rare Earth Elements in the Environment at Jacobs University
April 21, 2021
Rare Earth Elements are urgently needed for enabling technologies such as electro mobility or wind energy, but they also end up in the environment in ever-increasing quantities. With the interdisciplinary project PANORAMA, the European Union is funding research and the training of experts on this highly topical subject with 3.8 million euros. At a three-day online workshop from April 21 to April 23 at Jacobs University, scientists will discuss the properties, use and distribution of these critical metals. Guests are invited to participate in the workshop.
Raw materials such as lithium, gallium, scandium and especially Rare Earth Elements are classified as critical raw materials in all industrialized nations. They are of great strategic economic importance, but their extraction and rapidly increasing use also often produces toxic waste products. How to develop more ecologically responsible processes for handling Rare Earth Elements is one of the questions addressed by the PANORAMA project.
"At the workshop, we will discuss in detail the distribution and behavior, but especially the toxicity of Rare Earth Elements and debate the environmental risks associated with their use," said Michael Bau, Professor of Geochemistry at Jacobs University and host of the workshop.
The EU-funded PANORAMA project (MSCA funding #857989) involves a consortium of 14 universities and research institutions and four companies from six EU countries. For Jacobs University Bremen, Professor Bau is involved with two subprojects. In addition to research, PANORAMA also serves to train 15 PhD students, who are taught a wide range of skills through the partnership of academic and non-academic institutions.
Registration and further information on the project and the workshop:
Prof. Dr. Michael Bau
Phone: +49 421 200-3564
Email: m.bau [at] jacobs-university.de