Ascension: Advancing Critical Minerals Tech With $2.3m Funds

The sourcing of rare earths has become a critical concern for supply chains around the world, in part due to the energy transition.

Critical mineral mining can be difficult - these 'rare earths' are not rare in themselves, but can be hard to extract.

Oxford University spinout company, Ascension, has secured £1.7m (US$2.3m) in funding as it develops its recovery technology.

Critical earth demand

Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are essential to modern life. These materials are vital in the energy transition – being used in wind turbines and electric vehicles – as well as in modern defence systems and semi conductors. 

The materials, however, are often found in low concentration, making it difficult for them to be mined. Moreover, much of the market for rare earth elements comes from China, exposing countries around the world to supply chain risks. Currently, the company is responsible for 61% of global rare earth production and 90% of processing.

To combat risk, regions around the world are aiming to expand their mining capabilities or diversify their sourcing, but the infrastructure needed for rare earth extraction is costly and intricate. 

Now, Oxford University spinout company and startup, Ascension, is advancing a geothermal alternative to traditional rare earth mining. It has secured £1.7m (US$2.3m) in combined public and private backing in order to increase the capabilities of its underground critical mineral recovery technology. 

The funding is made up of a £670,490 (US$909,137) grant from Innovate UK’s Growth Catalyst program, with a £1m (US$1.3m) in matched investment from the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (UKI2S). This has been managed by Future Planet Capital, with co-investment from Oxford Science Enterprises and East X. Overall, Ascension's total capital raised is at £6.2m (US$8.4m).

Climate-friendly technology

Ascension is a climate technology product manufacturing company, working to utilise volcanoes and geothermal energy in the critical mineral supply chain. The company was founded by Professor Jonathan Blundy and Professor Mike Kendall of the University of Oxford, alongside entrepreneur Motoaki Sumi. This international team is aiming to address global challenges of sustainability and the energy transition, using science and cutting-edge technology. 

Instead of conventional mining, which uses energy-intensive milling, surface excavation and high-temperature chemical processing, Ascension utilises environmentally safe solutions and geothermal heat which is naturally occurring. It recovers these rare minerals directly from volcanic rock deposits which sit underground. This technique reduces land disturbance and environmental impact, as well as eliminates the need of excavation. 

"For decades, securing critical minerals has meant digging larger mines, processing more rock and accepting significant environmental damage as the price of progress. That model is outdated," explains Motoaki.

“By working with natural geothermal systems rather than against them, Ascension is demonstrating that critical minerals can be recovered with far lower environmental impact. This support from Innovate UK, UKI2S and our co-investors enables us to accelerate development and move towards field validation.

“Ascension’s technology shows it’s possible to access the minerals modern economies depend on by working with natural geothermal systems, rather than against the environment. We’re grateful for the support of UKI2S, Innovate UK and our co-investors, whose backing allows us to accelerate our Selective Recovery programme and further strengthen our technology platform and its potential impact.”

Targeting a chokepoint

The funding supports Ascension’s Selective Recovery programme, will help the company in its targeted metal selection techniques. Moreover, by utilising volcanic glass – which is globally distributed and a relatively untapped resource – it has significant potential.

As it is not a sought-after commodity and has its own components which makes it easier for extraction, this could make critical mineral supply chains more accessible. This could help develop supply chain stability for western countries aiming to diversify from China.

The technology has been developed following research from Professor Jon Blundy and Professor Mike Kendall, which addresses the challenge of sourcing materials needed for the green energy transition, while attempting to reduce the environmental impact of this critical mineral extraction. 

“Critical mineral supply is one of the great chokepoints of the energy transition – and competing for the same finite deposits is a race to the bottom," adds Shruti Iyengar, Investment Director, UKI2S (managed by Future Planet Capital).

"Ascension is asking a different question entirely. By combining geothermal heat with new geoscience, the team is unlocking mineral resources that have sat beyond the reach of conventional methods – and extracting them without the destructive footprint the industry is known for. We backed them because the science is genuinely novel, the team brings rare depth across frontier geoscience and commercial execution, and the opportunity to build real sovereign self-sufficiency in critical materials is one the UK cannot afford to miss.”

Ascension is gaining traction with its field trials, spearheaded by this funding. Through this, it is aiming to demonstrate that geothermal technology could be the key to securing critical minerals without negatively impacting the environment.