Greg Bowman presented the keynote address at the 2026 Partner Forum where experts from across the R&D spectrum discussed how to build a stronger domestic supply chain for critical minerals. Photo by Joe DelNero, National Laboratory of the Rockies/
At 2026 Partner Forum, Industry, Academia, Government, and Researchers Convene To Talk U.S. Supply Strangleholds, Modern Mining, and Optimism If you drive through one of the western-most points of West Texas—about 85 miles east of El Paso County—you might spot a rounded brown mountain in the empty dust sprawl alongside … [continued]
National Laboratory of the Rockies Director Jud Virden (seated at left), Department of Energy Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson (center), and Gov. Mike Dunleavy (seated at right) are joined by NLR leadership and staff and University of Alaska Fairbanks leadership. Photo from the Office of Governor Mike Dunleavy.
NLR Laboratory Director Jud Virden Signs Partnership Agreements at Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) signed two new memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on May 19 that aim to increase research and innovation in critical minerals, energy, and buildings in Alaska and the Arctic. … [continued]
Sarah Inskeep Talks Supply Chains for Energy Technologies—and One NLR Model That Brings Them Together When you plug in your phone or laptop, do you ever think about the wires that carry the electricity to the battery? Okay, now what about the powerlines, transformers, and substations that move the electricity … [continued]
ChatGPT generated image of a pile of fossil generated sulfur essential for fertilizer with the Strait of Hormuz behind it
When people think about the Strait of Hormuz, they think about oil tankers, LNG carriers, naval escorts, insurance premiums, and the price of gasoline. They generally do not think about yellow piles of sulfur beside gas plants, phosphate fertilizer complexes, or the acid circuits that keep copper and nickel processing … [continued]
Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson announced the National Laboratory of the Rockies’ (NLR’s) two memorandums of understanding with the Colorado School of Mines and University of Utah at NLR’s Partner Forum on May 5, 2026. Photo by Joe DelNero, National Laboratory of the Rockies.
Memorandums of Understanding Combine Facilities and Capabilities To Build Pipelines for Tech Commercialization and Skilled Domestic Workforces By Brooke Van Zandt The National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) this week signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with the Colorado School of Mines and the University of Utah that will help strengthen … [continued]
Companies Need Critical Minerals for Electronics, Medical Equipment, Crops, and More. These 3 Techniques (and Others) Could Make Some Easier To Get. “The Fast Lane” series zooms in on some of the thousands of technologies born in national laboratories that companies can license today. This iteration focuses on tools and … [continued]
A team searches for seaweed samples on the shore of Moira Bay, Alaska. Photo by Stefanie Van Wychen, NREL.
Some Seaweeds Accumulate Critical Minerals. NREL Scientists Are Studying Which Ones Do It Best Seaweed: the phyto(mining) frontier? Puns aside, seaweed is emerging as a surprising mining source. NREL chemist Stefanie Van Wychen and a team of five departed Juneau, Alaska, on an early spring—and surprisingly green—April morning. The crew … [continued]
chatgpt generated panoramic illustration of deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, showing a crawler harvesting polymetallic nodules from the ocean floor with a riser pipe carrying slurry to a ship 4 km above
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with a global expert on minerals processing and battery minerals, Lyle Trytten. We were closing out an engagement to do a technoeconomic assessment of seabed mining and it was a great opportunity to discuss the space and some of the things we … [continued]
ChatGPT generated panoramic image of a vast open-pit platinum mine with giant haul trucks, contrasted against a small line of hydrogen cars to show the scale of resource demand
Hydrogen advocates have a habit of ignoring the obvious constraint sitting at the core of their preferred technology. They speak of cost declines, of economies of scale, and of green hydrogen pipelines, but rarely acknowledge that the chemistry of proton exchange membrane fuel cells depends on a scarce and irreplaceable … [continued]
ChatGPT generated this image of a strategic stockpile warehouse, illustrating the scale and preparedness required to manage by-product metal shortages in national reserves
In the discourse around global electrification, much of the attention is mistakenly drawn to the purported shortages of primary metals such as lithium and cobalt. As I’ve argued extensively elsewhere, including in critiques of the flawed models by Michaux and Cathles, these scenarios vastly overstate scarcity due to extreme and … [continued]
