Drs. Michael Moats, left, and Lana Alagha in a Missouri S&T laboratory. (Photo: Michael Pierce/Missouri S&T)
A Regional Innovation and Technology Hub (Tech Hub) led by Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rollla has secured $28.5 million in implementation funds from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) for its efforts focused on critical minerals processing.
The funds, which come from the CHIPS and Science Act, will support the construction of an 18,000-ft2 test-bed facility at Missouri S&T to evaluate and develop methodologies for extracting and processing resources that will be used for advanced energy systems.
“We are grateful to the EDA for selecting Missouri S&T for this award, as it has huge economic development implications for our region and could ultimately lead to significant changes for the critical minerals supply chain for the entire nation,” said Dr. Kwame Awuah-Offei, executive director and regional innovation officer of the S&T-led Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy (CM2AE) Tech Hub.
Awuah-Offei is also S&T’s chair and Union Pacific/Rocky Mountain Energy professor of mining and explosives engineering.
In October 2023, Missouri S&T was selected as one of the nation’s 31 Tech Hubs out of nearly 400 applicants. S&T’s successful proposal includes partners from industry, government, economic development groups, planning commissions and higher education institutions.
“This is a proud and defining moment for our region, the state of Missouri and the nation,” said Missouri S&T Chancellor Mo Dehghani. “Through the relentless dedication and collaboration of countless stakeholders, the EDA has acknowledged Missouri S&T’s leadership in critical minerals research and the transformative promise of this Tech Hub. Together, we are revitalizing the economies of 14 counties while bolstering the critical minerals supply chain for Missouri and the United States, paving the way for innovation and progress.”
The Missouri counties in the Tech Hub’s region include Carter, Crawford, Dent, Howell, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Phelps, Reynolds, Shannon, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Texas and Washington.
According to Dr. Michael Moats, the test-bed project lead, the facility will take about two years to construct. It will house several pilot-scale pieces of equipment focused on different aspects of hydrometallurgical processing and analysis, which will support research and development efforts, as well as the region’s workforce development.
“The term ‘world-class’ can sometimes be overused, but it is entirely appropriate for this facility, which will be the first of its kind,” said Moats, who also serves as a professor and chair of materials science and engineering at S&T. “Designed to unlock natural and recycled resources, it will enable rapid testing of potential technologies through adaptable equipment configurations and simulations of future facilities.”
“Researchers and consortium members will focus on various primary and secondary sources sourced from mines, slag heaps and black mass from battery recycling,” says Moats.
Within 10 years, Dr. Lana Alagha, co-lead of the test-bed and a Robert H. Quenon Associate Professor of Mining Engineering at S&T, envisions the work having a larger effect on the United States’s critical minerals mining, refining and recycling in general.
The CM2AE Tech Hub’s selection for this competitive award highlights its potential to strengthen national security, accelerate advanced energy manufacturing, and secure U.S. leadership in critical minerals processing.
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