Efficiency

Travertine will develop an innovative process that combines strong acid-enhanced weathering and critical metal concentration and recovery in ultramafic mine tailings with an electrolytic process for sulfuric acid recycling and base production. The process will maximize the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) reactive minerals and residual critical elements from mine tailings, while minimizing waste. Carbon dioxide will be captured from air and permanently sequestered as inert carbonate minerals. Leached critical elements will be recovered as oxides.

Boeing Research & Technology aims to develop a comprehensive solution for ultra-high performance turbine blades and other extreme environment aerospace applications. The team will develop a series of novel refractory complex concentrated alloys (RCCA) and their processing parameters for both laser beam powder-bed-fusion/powder-feed-deposition additive manufacturing and advanced powder metallurgy manufacturing, as well as intermediate layer materials optimized for coating solutions.

Cathode structure and surface morphology are thought to be essential for LENR reaction rate. Amphionic proposes to optimize cathode design to form Pd-polymeric composites within which the Pd nanoparticle size and shape are varied, and the interfacial separation and geometry are controlled. Experiments will focus on exploring if LENR are produced in potential wells existing between two nanoscale surfaces by controlling metal nanoparticle (NP) geometry, separation, composition, and deuterium loading.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) proposes a hypothesis-driven experimental campaign to examine prominent claims of low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) with nuclear and material diagnostics, focusing on unambiguous indicators of nuclear reactions such as emitted neutrons and nuclear ash with unnatural isotopic ratios. The team will develop an experimental platform that thoroughly and reproducibly test claims of nuclear anomalies in gas-loaded metal-hydrogen systems.

University of Michigan will provide capability to measure hypothetical neutron, gamma, and ion emissions from LENR experiments. Modern instrumentation will be coupled with best practices in data acquisition, analysis, and understanding of backgrounds to interpret collected data and evaluate the proposed signal.

Phoenix Tailings’ CO2 GONE process uses and recycles CO2 to extract energy-relevant minerals, primarily nickel (Ni) and magnesium (Mg), from iron- and aluminum-rich ore through carbonation with CO2. Using CO2 with high pressures, temperatures, and mixing breaks down the rock structure and enables greater extraction of energy-relevant elements like Ni and Mg, which are then converted to metal carbonates (NiCO3, MgCO3).

Texas Tech University will develop accurate materials fabrication, characterization, and analysis to attempt to resolve the physical understanding of Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR). Texas Tech will also provide advanced detection of nuclear reaction products as a resource for ARPA-E LENR Exploratory Topic teams.

The University of Kentucky’s proposed technology will use CO₂ emitted at or near operating mines and processing operations to reduce the energy consumed during grinding by more than 50% while improving the recovery of critical energy relevant minerals by 20% or greater. In this approach, CO2 will be mixed with ore containing the valuable minerals, especially copper (Cu) and rare earth elements, to improve grinding and separation efficiency. Biological fixation of CO2 will also be studied and employed in producing acid to recover Cu from low grade feedstocks.

The University of Texas at Arlington will develop two technologies to produce lithium (Li) and nickel (Ni) from CO2-reactive minerals and rocks that contain calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg), while sequestering CO2 in the form of carbonate solids (calcium carbonate, or CaCO3; magnesium carbonate, or MgCO3; and variants thereof). The technologies, acoustic stimulation and electrolytic proton production, use electricity to liberate valuable metal ions from the surrounding mineral matrix at sub-boiling temperatures (~20-80°C).