Samsung is all set to participate in 1.5 trillion, £869m, won into an aspiring research project, which is a decade long project. Some of the amount will be utilized to build substitutes to rare earths, the materials that are important for the production of a wide range of hi-tech products.

As per Joongang Daily, the Samsung Future Technology Cultivation Project will promote 27 areas of the research. The areas will include 12 covering subjects in basic science and 15 in developing new materials and innovation in ICT.

The project will also study optoelectronics i. e. whether optoelectronics can replace rare earths in hi-tech kit.

The project will be headed by a 35-year-old Kyung Hee University professor, Yu Yeong-min. But, the amount to be spent by him out of a total of 1.5 trillion is not yet clear. The main goal of this project is to help new President, Park Geun-hye's efforts in improving economic growth in Korea and also to help the country in winning its first Nobel prize in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine.

China has dominated the supply the rare earths that are found in everything starting from smartphones to catalytic converters. China says that it has less than one-third of the world's reserves, still about 90% of the rare earths have been produced by China.

In the year 2012, an energy-efficient motor was developed by Hitachi without the use of rare earths.