The U.S. once controlled the market on rare earth elements, sought after for a range of technologies. But in the last few decades, China has cornered that market and surpassed the U.S.

There are 78 common elements in the Earth’s crust, and Cerium, one of the “rare earth elements” is the 25th most plentiful on the list. Its concentration is 60 parts per million.

Though hydrogen is the most common element in the universe (around 75% of the universe’s mass), it is rare on Earth, making up only 0.14% of the crust.

Rare earth elements thread invisibly through daily life, quietly powering everything from laptops to smartphones to cars.

Ulanqab Ulanhada Volcano No. 5 in Inner Mongolia, China. Extinct volcanoes could contain high concentrations of rare earth elements, essential components for the green transition. Govan Zhang/Getty ...

These objects brought around a half a percent of Earth’s mass. If the late veneer theory is right, then most elements that make up life arrived on Earth sometime after the Earth’s core had formed.

Earth’s extinct volcanoes might be an untapped source of highly in-demand rare earth elements. A set of lab-based experiments revealed that some of these 17 elements could be lurking in the ...

In the U.S., for example, researchers are looking in coal mines, where mining activity is already occurring, to see if rare earth metals might become the next product of these mines.

That’s why UC Santa Barbara’s Justin Wilson has partnered with the mineral recovery company REEGen. “We’ve developed a new approach to extract rare earth elements from end-of-life products like ...

The U.S. once controlled the market on rare earth elements, sought after for a range of technologies. But in the last few decades, China has cornered that market and surpassed the U.S.