Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub
The Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy (CM2AE) consortium led by Missouri S&T was selected as one of the nation’s 31 Tech Hubs on Oct. 23, 2023. The Tech Hub Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), supports innovation and job creation in key technology areas. The CM2AE consortium has over 30 members who are leveraging the assets in the designated region to become a global leader in producing critical minerals and materials for downstream advanced energy technology.
Designated region
The CM2AE Tech Hub region includes Carter, Crawford, Dent, Howell, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Phelps, Reynolds, Shannon, St. Francios, Ste. Genevieve, Texas, and Washington counties.
How this initiative will help the region
The Tech Hub is poised to assist in bridging the gap between critical minerals producers and advanced energy technology manufacturers. The hub will build on the region’s mineral-rich geography, expertise in hydrometallurgical processing, and existing assets. It will increase processing capacity to convert minerals into materials necessary for advanced energy and critical goods and potentially create thousands of good-paying jobs.
The hub could lead to over $34 billion in economic development in advanced energy technology manufacturing over the next decade. Through the commitments made by the consortium members, we expect to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in commercial and demonstration-scale plants that will lead to $34.2 billion in economic output and over 23,000 jobs in Missouri (see economic impact study results). This level of production will lead to a broad economic impact for the entire state and benefit the entire country.
This Tech Hub will be successful because it has…
1. The hydrometallurgy and mining expertise and the natural resources necessary to be globally competitive in this field.
2. Strong levels of participation and engagement with the private sector.
3. Effective partnerships and coordination throughout the region.
4. Rural populations that could potentially fill new jobs and diversify the workforce that typically benefits from material supply chains.
5. Innovative lab-to-market approaches that will include a scaling facility and simulation techniques to reduce the cost and time to build full-scale processing facilities.
Join the consortium
The consortium is always looking for new entities aligned with its goals to join. Because the tech hub advances place-based economic development, tech hub members must be involved in the critical minerals supply chain and have activities in the designated region. If you fit that criteria, contact us to join our tech hub.