Alta debuts with $5.1 million Seed to sustainably separate critical minerals using advanced biochemistry

Like energy, food, and water, mined metals are essential inputs for nearly every aspect of modern life. From the rare earth elements that power electric vehicles and consumer electronics to the magnesium that is vital for light­weighting trans­porta­tion, we depend heavily on the products of mining. But as global demand for these materials skyrockets, the U.S. faces a serious supply crunch. We remain highly reliant on imports, and shortages loom if we fail to act. Without new approaches, our capacity to manufacture everything from smartphones to solar panels to satellites could be constrained.

That’s why, at DCVC, we believe the mining industry is ripe for a tech­no­log­ical revolution – and we’re backing the companies poised to spark it. Today, one of them is stepping out of stealth mode (see TechCrunch coverage here). Alta Resource Tech­nolo­gies is harnessing advanced biochem­istry to transform mineral separation, starting with rare earth elements. Building on technology licensed from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and with nearly $1 million in support from DARPA and other government partners, Alta deploys compu­ta­tion­ally optimized proteins to bind selectively to specific metals, efficiently isolating high-purity rare earths from low-grade sources at unprece­dented scale. The potential to dramat­i­cally expand supplies while reducing mining’s envi­ron­mental toll is immense. What hydraulic fracturing did for oil and gas tech­no­log­i­cally, Alta is now poised to do for critical minerals. We are thrilled to co-lead Alta’s $5.1 million Series Seed round and help build this company for global impact.

Alta’s destealthing comes on the heels of other exciting devel­op­ments across our portfolio in this space. Tidal Metals, whose $8.5 million Series Seed round we led earlier this year, has developed an efficient, scalable process for extracting magnesium metal directly from seawater using renewable electricity. With magnesium demand surging for use in ultralight alloys, Tidal’s technology could access an abundant new resource while slashing emissions. 

These companies are leading a wave of innovation sweeping the histor­i­cally conser­v­a­tive mining sector — and gaining interest from investors not typically drawn to this industry. The importance of this trend is hard to overstate. With demand for the minerals that power the digital economy, electrified trans­porta­tion, and the energy transition set to soar, we simply must expand, diversify, and clean up the upstream supply chain. As Nathan Ratledge, Alta’s founder and CEO, noted in a recent op-ed in Fortune magazine, mining hasn’t really progressed since the days of Pliny the Elder. In many parts of the world, mining is an ecological disaster. We have to change that. We also must recognize that China is tightening its grip on these strategic resources. That’s why we think of Alta as an ​“un-mining” company — one that delivers mining produc­tivity improve­ments while reducing the carbon footprint and water pollution of mineral extraction and rehoming mining from hostile or unreliable geographies.

Inventions like the ones championed by Alta and Tidal make me optimistic that the U.S. and its allies can and will rise to the occasion. By coupling advanced science with entre­pre­neurial grit, they’re showing the way to a far more innovative, sustainable, and secure foundation for 21^st century industry.