German aims to strike it rich with rare metals

 The 44-year-old scientist is exploring ways of extracting the exotic metals that have spiked 300 per cent in price over the past year alone, driven in part by trade tensions with China which enjoys a near monopoly on their export.

“It’s incredible that almost no one has thought of this before,” Palitzsch said.
For the moment, his work is focused on recycling indium from solar panels.

Not categorised as one of the precious “rare earths,” this metal is nonetheless needed to make flat-screen televisions and its price has soared.

Using a technique he has patented, Palitzsch plunges the solar panels into a vat containing a special chemical solution, then collects the residue from which he extracts the valuable indium.

But Palitzsch is already turning his attention to the extraction of europium — a rare earth used to produce the colour red in television screens — from the glowing white powder found in energy-saving light bulbs.