ROCHESTER, NY (October 31, 2025) – REEgen has been named the grand prize winner of the 2025 New York State Innovation Summit Commercialization Competition. REEgen is a U.S. biomining startup that is working to recover critical metals, including rare earth elements (REE), from industrial waste. REEgen competed against eleven other innovative New York State startups, winning a $150,000 award for demonstrating the commercial viability and national security importance of its BioREEcover technology before a panel of expert judges.

The FuzeHub award will accelerate REEgen's path to achieving revenue by enabling the company to start producing rare earths for the U.S. supply chain as early as mid-2026. REEgen has externally validated its mixed rare earth oxalate product and is currently working with feedstock partners to prepare for its first commercial BioREEcovery unit installation.

"Winning this competition is an exciting validation of REEgen's mission to revitalize critical mineral recovery and enable a future of widespread energy security," said Dr. Alexa Schmitz, Co-Founder and CEO of REEgen. "This award will jumpstart our remaining scaleup milestones, really accelerating our path to first rare earth sales from industrial waste in the United States. We’re so grateful for the continued support from FuzeHub and New York State towards our mission, and we look forward to building up REEgen as a NY clean tech startup in the coming years.”

"We are so excited to be working with Alexa and the REEgen team again, after having previously supported them when they received an award with Cornell University through our Manufacturing Grants in 2024," said Patty Rechberger, Innovation Fund Manager at FuzeHub. "They have the vision, expertise, and drive necessary to take their timely and crucial biorecovery technology to market."

REE are essential components in clean energy technologies, consumer electronics, and defense systems—from wind turbines and electric vehicles to missile guidance systems and night-vision equipment. REEgen's technology offers a pathway to domestic REE production that bypasses the environmental devastation and geopolitical dependencies of conventional mining.

REEgen's BioREEcover Technology

REEgen's BioREEcover system uses proprietary, genetically engineered bacteria to recover rare earth elements and other critical minerals from industrial byproducts, including slag from metal recycling, e-waste, and spent catalysts. Unlike conventional mining, which generates huge amounts of toxic waste per ton of REE produced, REEgen's biological process operates at low temperature and pressure, produces no significant hazardous waste, and can significantly reduce operational costs.

About REEgen

REEgen Inc. is a U.S.-based biomining startup founded in 2022 to advance clean processes for critical mineral recovery and production. The company innovates by applying cutting-edge synthetic biology to solve conventional mining's environmental and economic challenges, engineering low-cost systems for sustainable production. REEgen recognizes the importance of critical minerals for energy and national security and is dedicated to promoting a circular economy. Headquartered in Ithaca, NY, REEgen was spun out of Cornell University and builds on research originally funded by ARPA-E. Learn more at reegen.tech and follow on LinkedIn.

About the FuzeHub Commercialization Competition

During the New York State Innovation Summit, FuzeHub hosts the annual Commercialization Competition. Finalists demonstrate the commercialization potential of their products or technologies to a panel of expert judges, competing for an investment. Award funds must be used to improve existing prototypes, enabling companies to pursue additional investments and customers and leading to successful commercialization. The Competition is part of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, named in honor of Jeff Lawrence, who spent more than 20 years at the Center for Economic Growth. Lawrence is remembered for being an invaluable and generous mentor to many in the area’s business community and a tireless advocate for manufacturing innovation throughout New York.

About the New York State Innovation Summit

The New York State Innovation Summit celebrates New York State leadership in technology-led economic growth. Companies and researchers at the forefront of emerging technologies and new advancements in production capabilities were showcased while current technology convergence opportunities, ways to accelerate commercialization, and issues of manufacturing sustainability were explored.

Media Contact:

media@reegen.tech

Disclaimer

The Company is currently in the research and development phase and is pre-revenue. All statements regarding the Company’s business strategy, future operations, financial position, prospects, and objectives are forward-looking and should not be relied upon as guarantees of future performance. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, uncertainties related to research and development outcomes, regulatory approvals, market acceptance, competition, and the availability of capital.