KardaForge: Biomining for Ascending the Kardashev Scale

Tackling the Global Challenge of Electronic Waste

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing global problem. As the world accelerates toward electrification, expanding AI data centers, and the electrification of transportation, the demand for these critical metals is surging. KardaForge lends its name from the Kardashev Scale, a model that measures a civilization's technological advancement based on its energy consumption. This advancement is strongly dependent on our ability to extract and incorporate critical metals like lithium and rare earth elements into various electronic devices and batteries. Without this, technological advancements become severely limited.

Current recycling methods for electronics are costly, energy-intensive, and environmentally harmful, insufficient to sustainably meet this increasing demand. KardaForge is developing a process to use microorganisms to extract and recover valuable metals from e-waste. This approach ensures we have the critical materials needed for future technologies while promoting sustainable recycling and reducing waste.

This process has been validated at a laboratory scale using milled printed circuit boards at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia. However, further optimization and scaling are needed to transition from technology readiness level (TRL) 3 to TRL 4, which is what the focus of KardaForge will be.

Our Process

1. Shredding E-Waste

Electronic waste is broken down into smaller pieces to make it easier to process and extract metals.

2. Generating Biological Lixiviants

Microorganisms are cultivated to produce special biological solutions (lixiviants) capable of dissolving metals from e-waste.

3. Bioleaching with Lixiviants

The lixiviants are applied to the shredded e-waste, dissolving the metals into a liquid solution through a biological leaching process.

4. Biogenic Reagent Generation

Biological agents are created to assist in separating and precipitating metals from the liquid solution.

5. Metal Recovery from Solution

The dissolved metals are extracted from the liquid, purified, and recovered in usable forms.

Our Expertise

Led by Senior Principal Research Scientist Dr. Anna Kaksonen and supported by experts Dr. Naomi Boxall and Dr. Falko Mathes, our team brings over 30 years of experience in biomining. The project's success could lead to commercial opportunities for sustainable e-waste recycling, providing an environmentally friendly alternative to existing methods.

Addressing the E-Waste Crisis

The exponential growth of electronic devices has resulted in an unprecedented accumulation of e-waste—62 billion kilograms generated globally in 2022 alone, containing valuable metals worth an estimated US$91 billion. Traditional recycling methods are inefficient, costly, and environmentally harmful, consuming high levels of energy and producing toxic byproducts. Meanwhile, industries advancing toward electrification, AI data centers, and electric vehicles are driving a surge in demand for critical metals, intensifying the strain on already dwindling resources.

KardaForge addresses this challenge by leveraging biomining—a sustainable process that uses microorganisms to extract and recover valuable metals from e-waste. These microorganisms produce natural solutions (leaching agents) to dissolve metals and recover them in usable forms, operating at low temperatures and pressures. This approach significantly reduces energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared to traditional recycling methods.

This method can be scaled for smaller operations, making it more accessible and adaptable, and supports the principles of a circular economy. By developing and optimizing this process, KardaForge aims to overcome the limitations of conventional methods, ensuring a steady supply of critical metals for future technological advancements while mitigating environmental harm.

Advancing Biomining for E-Waste Recovery

Biomining has proven successful in large-scale extraction of base metals from sulfide ores and in refinement of gold ores. Lab studies have shown the feasibility of biomining e-waste and metal recovery through bioprecipitation, yet large-scale application remains unexplored. Building on CSIRO’s integrated biohydrometallurgical approach and our team’s expertise, we aim to advance this field.

Project Development

Our project will develop a comprehensive process that includes:

• E-waste shredding: Breaking down electronic waste into smaller pieces to facilitate processing.
• Dissolving of metals: Using microorganisms to produce biological leaching agents (biolixiviants) capable of dissolving metals.
• Extraction of metals: Applying these biolixiviants to the e-waste to extract metals through a biological leaching process.
• Metal recovery: Producing biological reagents with microorganisms to recover metals from the solution.

Primary endpoints include achieving significant metal extraction efficiencies through vat bioleaching of shredded e-waste and effective metal recovery using biogenic reagents. Success will be measured by the efficiency and scalability of the biomining process compared to traditional methods.

Project Leadership

• Dr. Anna Kaksonen – Senior Principal Research Scientist with expertise in biomining and environmental microbiology.
• Dr. Naomi Boxall – Senior Research Scientist specializing in hydrometallurgy and metal recovery processes.
• Dr. Falko Mathes – Research Scientist with a focus on microbial processes and bioreactor design.

Intellectual Property

The project expects to create novel IP particularly for:

• Development of optimized biomining processes through the use of metal-solubilizing and metal-precipitating microorganisms to extract and recover metals from e-waste.
• New bioleaching methods employing specific microbial strains or consortia that enhance the efficiency of metal extraction from electronic waste materials.
• Techniques for biogenic reagent generation for metal recovery, involving innovative methods to produce and utilize biological reagents for precipitating metals from leach solutions.
• Integrated processing strategies that combine e-waste size reduction, biological lixiviant generation, bioleaching, and metal recovery into a cohesive and scalable system.

Unlocking the Market Potential of E-Waste Recycling

The global e-waste crisis presents a massive market opportunity for advanced metal recycling technologies. In 2022 alone, 62 million tonnes of e-waste were generated worldwide, containing an estimated US$91 billion worth of valuable metals. By 2030, e-waste is projected to reach 74 million tonnes, further intensifying the need for sustainable solutions.

Additionally, the demand for critical metals like rare earth elements (REEs) is expected to triple by 2040 under current development, and could increase sevenfold with more ambitious technology development goals.

Addressing Declining Viability of Traditional Mining

Traditional mining is also becoming less viable, with a 28% drop in productivity over the past decade due to declining ore quality, driving up costs and environmental impacts. In contrast, our biomining process unlocks the potential of e-waste by recovering critical metals like REEs. For every million tonnes of e-waste processed, we estimate recovering metals worth approximately $1.5 billion at current market prices for REEs and other key materials.

KardaForge’s biomining process is primed for capturing this opportunity by converting e-waste into industry-grade metals at a lower cost than existing solutions.

Project Milestones and Budget