News: Suppliers
4 February 2026
Supra launches to secure US supply of gallium, scandium and other critical minerals
Amid mounting concerns about US critical mineral and rare-earth element supply chains, Supra Elemental Recovery Inc has launched as a spinout from the University of Texas at Austin, focused on selectively recovering high-purity critical minerals from waste streams. The firm is initially targeting elements such as gallium (Ga) and scandium (Sc).
The USA is currently 100% import-dependent for both gallium and scandium. China dominates the critical minerals market through capital-intensive and environmentally hazardous refining processes. Supra says that it has developed a non-toxic approach in which dissolved industrial waste is pumped through proprietary, reusable, sponge-like cartridges that selectively capture and release critical minerals in sequence. Early results indicate up to 100 times greater selectivity and speed compared to incumbent refining methods, enabling higher purity and lower costs.
“Every year, billions of dollars worth of critical minerals are trapped in domestic waste streams, from industrial byproducts and mine tailings to electronic waste,” says co-founder & CEO Katie Ullmann Durham. “By profitably recovering these elements, we can secure the inputs needed for America’s advanced manufacturing future,” she adds.
Rare earths are notoriously difficult and expensive to refine at high purity, notes co-founder & chief operating officer Jordan Sessler. “We’re making this easier and more affordable by applying advances in supramolecular chemistry, materials science, and fluid dynamics to build a versatile platform technology. By refining multiple elements from multiple sources, we believe we can deliver much-needed supply chain resilience.”
Supra’s technology builds on federally supported research conducted at the University of Texas at Austin. The technology is also being validated for additional elements, including cobalt, lithium and lanthanides used in batteries, magnets, and other common electronics.
Picture: One of Supra’s proprietary cartridges, engineered with a custom micro-channel geometry to maximize selectivity and flow rate beyond incumbent critical mineral recovery methods. Photo credit: Genesis Cosme, The University of Texas at Austin.
In conjunction with its launch, Supra has also announced the close of an oversubscribed $2m pre-seed round, led by Crucible Capital, with participation from the UT Seed Fund, Climate Capital, Portmanteau Ventures, and Pew Protection Trust. The funding will support continued technology development and preparation for commercial pilots, expected in 2026.
“The key to restoring America’s rare-earth leadership is building refining capacity, the bottleneck standing between domestic raw resources and secure supply,” comments Meltem Demirors, founder & general partner at Crucible Capital. “Supra is building this exact capability with a proprietary new approach.”
Supra seeks companies interested in supplying feedstock, purchasing critical minerals, or exploring partnerships.
