Cornell to help boost US supply of critical energy minerals
Source: https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/01/cornell-help-boost-us-supply-critical-energy-minerals
Author: Blaine Friedlander, Cornell Chronicle
A Cornell professor will play a major role in a new federally funded project to increase the domestic supply of critical minerals needed to boost green energy. “Energy critical metals are mined all over the world, leaving the U.S. quite vulnerable,” said Gadikota, who is also a faculty fellow at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. “This research is all about decarbonizing the mining industry and developing an independent, domestic supply chain of these critical metals. It’s important for U.S. manufacturing, green energy, national security, and competitiveness.” Currently, the U.S. domestic mineral supply is insufficient to implement the current energy transition from fossil fuels to renewable and clean energy sources, according to the ARPA-E’s Mining Innovations for Negative Emissions Resources program. The lack of domestic supply poses a significant risk to the energy supply chain, from renewable power generation, electricity transmission to electric vehicles, the agency said. Mining technology innovation is needed to relieve the demand, economic burdens and national security worries for these energy-critical minerals – and place mining for these materials on a sustainable economic path, according to Gadikota.