Press Release of September 30, 2025
Pilot plant for gallium recovery goes into operation in Freiberg
Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology and Freiberger Compound Materials present cooperation in the semiconductor industry
Gallium is a strategically important element and the backbone of the semiconductor industry for mobile data transmission and optoelectronics applications. It is used in wafers (GaAs, GaN), electronic chips, and optical components such as LEDs and lasers. One kilogram of gallium currently costs around €1,000, and the price is rising. During industrial processing, a considerable amount of the raw material is already lost when etching or polishing processes remove material. The residues are sometimes highly diluted or the mixture is chemically complex, making recovery by conventional chemical means difficult. This is where the research of the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) of the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) comes in. Using a biotechnological process, the wastewater from Freiberger Compound Materials is treated in a pilot scale facility and the gallium is recovered.
Gallium is considered a critical raw material that is essential for both the development of renewable energy sources and the development of energy-efficient systems.
Source: Adobe Stock
Gallium is considered a critical raw material that is essential for both the development of renewable energy sources and the development of energy-efficient systems. Efficient recycling technologies are needed to ensure the availability of gallium for high-tech applications in the future. The biotechnology department at HIF transfers biochemical principles and biological functional carriers to completely new applications, thereby linking the biotechnology with resource technology. Metals are recycled using biosorption, in which biomolecules with the ability to bind to specific ions or molecules are the key reagents. Siderophores have proven to be suitable for recovering gallium from industrial wastewater. Siderophores – Greek for “iron carriers” – are a group of around 500 low-molecular compounds that are characterized by the formation of stable complexes with iron ions. In nature, they are produced by numerous bacteria, fungi, and plant roots in order to absorb iron from the environment.
Structure of a siderophore with gallium.
Source: Dr. Jain, Rohan
The lead HIF scientist is biochemical engineer Dr. Rohan Jain: "We use the metal-binding properties of siderophores to recover gallium(III) ions from industrial wastewater, such as that produced during the production of GaAs wafers at Freiberg Compound Materials. We use two different siderophores to recover the gallium. Using a patented process, we separate the gallium from the siderophores so that both can be reused. Siderophores are a perfect, stable, and environmentally friendly tool for us."
In the investigations, the two siderophores used formed highly stable gallium-siderophore complexes. This result correlates with the observed high selectivity of the two siderophores towards gallium. In fact, 100 percent of the gallium could be bound as a complex from two different process wastewater streams from wafer production. "Using various spectrometric methods (infrared and nuclear resonance) and density calculations, we determined how the gallium(III) ions are complexed, i.e., incorporated into a complex: To separate the gallium complex from the process wastewater, we use a patented separation method. This allowed the gallium to be almost completely complexed and 95 percent recovered as a siderophore complex. We were able to demonstrate the reusability of the siderophores in over ten cycles without any loss of function," Jain describes the process.
Dr. Rohan Jain is conducting research in the biotechnology department of the HIF on the recovery of gallium from industrial wastewater using siderophores.
Source: HZDR/D. Müller
The process has been successfully tested on a laboratory scale with a throughput of ten liters per day, and a pilot plant is now already handling 100 liters per day. The further pilot test is being carried out at semiconductor manufacturer Freiberger Compound Materials (FCM) GmbH. At the company's headquarters in Freiberg, the research plant is soon expected to process 1,000 to 2,000 liters per day. “We expect to gain insights into the scalability and economic efficiency of the process in an industrial environment,” says FCM Chief Technology Engineer Dr. Stefan Eichler. Manufacturing companies in the high-tech industry typically generate between 10,000 and 300,000 liters of wastewater per day. In mining, the figure is as high as 20 million liters or more. In the German high-tech sector alone, two to five tons of gallium per year could be saved through recycling from wastewater, thereby reducing dependence on imports.
Rohan Jain and his team have already reached another milestone: starting October 1, 2025, they will receive spin-off funding from Helmholtz Enterprise in the amount of € 230,000 for a period of just over a year. The Helmholtz Association's spin-off program finances the establishment of the founding team and the implementation of the start-up project. The SideroGaIn team was evaluated and selected by a jury consisting of venture capitalists, business representatives, and scientists. “My team and I are particularly grateful to be able to scale up the technology and carry out the pre-commercial phase with an experienced industrial partner such as Freiberger Compound Materials,” says Jain.
Publications:
R. Jain, S. Fan, P. Kaden, S. Tsushima, H. Foerstendorf, R. Barthe, F. Lehmann, K. Pollmann: Recovery of gallium from wafer fabrication industry wastewaters by Desferrioxamine B and E using reversed-phase chromatography approach, in Water Research 158(2019) (DOI: 10.1021/acsengineeringau.4c00042)
C. Hintersatz, S. Tsushima, T. Kaufer, J. Kretzschmar, A. Thewes, K. Pollmann, R. Jain: Efficient density functional theory directed identification of siderophores with increased selectivity towards indium and germanium, in Journal of Hazardous Materials 478(2024), 135523 (DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.135523)
About FCM:
FCM was founded in 1995, but builds on the long tradition of the semiconductor industry, which has been based in Freiberg since 1957. Over the past 25 years, more than €200 million has been invested in a modern production facility with a current clean room area of 1,700 m², including sophisticated analysis and measurement technology. The company employs around 350 highly qualified staff, whose commitment and performance represent the potential for growth and further development. https://freiberger.com
About HIF:
The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF) pursues the objective of developing innovative technologies for the economy so that mineral and metalliferous raw materials can be made available and used more efficiently and recycled in an environmentally friendly manner. It was founded in 2011 in the frame of the German Government’s raw materials strategy, belongs to the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) and cooperates closely with the TU Bergakademie Freiberg. https://hzdr.de/hif
Further Information:
Dr. Rohan Jain | Department Biotechnology
Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 2725 | Email: r.jain@hzdr.de
Dr. Stefan Eichler | Chief Technology Engineer
Freiberger Compound Materials GmbH
Phone: +49 3731 280 100 | Email: stefan.eichler@freiberger.com
Press Contact:
Anne-Kristin Jentzsch | Press Officer
Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology at HZDR
Phone: +49 351 260 4429 | Email: a.jentzsch@hzdr.de
