Sloan Foundation awards Mines more than $1M for energy/environment research

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation has awarded Colorado School of Mines more than $1 million for research into energy and the environment.

A recently made $750,000 Sloan grant is focused on gaining a better understanding of the role of vertically integrated mine refinery projects in the domestic production of critical minerals for the energy transition. The project includes a specific focus on the impacts on Indigenous communities and is led by Mining Engineering Associate Professor Nicole Smith. She is supported on the effort by Elizabeth Holley and Aaron Malone in the Mining Engineering Department and Jihye Kim in the Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department. Also contributing to the project are Michelle Larkins, Kathleen Hilimire and Carma Claw from Ft. Lewis College in Durango, Colorado. 

“Despite high-level priorities for domestic, critical mineral mining and refining, it is uncertain how these supply chains might function and the implications for communities living near these developments,” Nicole Smith said. 

Two graduate students in the Mining Engineering and Geological Engineering Departments are building a socio-technical database of the proposed nickel and cobalt mines in the United States. The database will inform the fieldwork the team will conduct.  

Two additional energy and environment projects at Mines have been funded by the Sloan Foundation this year, including a $250,000 study of how energy researchers integrate societal considerations into their work. The project is led by Engineering, Design, and Society Professor Jessica Smith and Electrical Engineering Professor Katie Johnson. “Being able to recognize and account for the inherent societal dimensions of even early-stage research is crucial to ensure a more just energy transition,” Jessica Smith said.

Students in Environmental Engineering Science, Humanitarian Engineering and Science, and Electrical Engineering are conducting interviews and participant-observation with researchers at two energy-focused centers.  

Mines received a $52,000 subaward for a third study identifying electric vehicle (EV) charging and grid infrastructure needs of under-represented communities. The goal of this research is to develop a better understanding of how different policies could be used to ensure vulnerable communities benefit from the transition to sustainable, electrified transportation. At Mines, this work is led by Mechanical Engineering Professor Alexandra Newman and Economics and Business Assistant Professor Hojun Choi.

Two Ph.D. students (in Operations Research with Engineering) and one undergraduate student (in Computer Science) are using their data science and optimization skills to inform the cities of Seattle and Pittsburgh regarding the optimal siting of EV infrastructure to balance costs, demand, and equity considerations.

All of Mine’s Sloan Foundations awards are for work done in partnership with other institutions, including Fort Lewis College, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Vermont, and the National Renewal Energy Lab (NREL).

“Each of these research projects is addressing an important component of the low-carbon energy transition,” said Evan Michelson, Sloan Foundation program director. “Whether it is studying the role of critical minerals in the energy transition, the nature of energy technology innovation, or the advancement of equitable EV adoption, this scholarship will advance the frontier of knowledge.”  

“These awards demonstrate Mines’ effectiveness in working across disciplines and institutions to deliver meaningful change across the country,” said Zach Lynott, Mines’ director of foundation relations.