Schroeder receives Elemental Critical Minerals grant

University of Georgia faculty member Paul Schroeder will lead one of 11 new partnerships launched to accelerate innovation in engineering biology for sustainable critical mineral supply chains. 

Funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and delivered in partnership with the UK Science and Technology Network, this initiative provides targeted grants to strengthen transatlantic collaboration in sustainable critical minerals and materials (CMM) research. Sustainable supply chains are important for diversification efforts, by both the UK and the US, to ensure resilience and security of critical minerals essential for advanced technologies.  

The funded exchanges bring together leading researchers across 20 institutions in both countries, spanning engineering biology, environmental science, and mineral recovery.

Paul A. Schroeder, professor of geology, will be collaborating with the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, UK. The collaboration brings together clay scientists and geomicrobiologists to assess the potential for environmentally sustainable rare earth element extraction from UK primary kaolin deposits by integrating field sampling, industry engagement, and comparative studies with US kaolin systems.

The Natural History Museum maintains a set of research themes designed to address societal challenges both from and for nature. Mineralogists at the NHM focus on developing ways to supply the critical minerals needed for new materials that support humanity’s transition to renewable energy resources.

"This new UK–US collaboration aims to holistically integrate biology, geology, engineering, and the social sciences to make use of legacy clay mining sites in both countries," Schroeder said. "The goal is to extract critical minerals sustainably, with minimal environmental and societal impact."

Collaborators include Javier Cuadros and Ana Santos at the NHM, Schroeder, and Liz Wattan at the University of Manchester, UK.

Travel supported by the grant will include delivering a lecture at the NHM, studying collections at the museum, and visiting clay mining districts in the Cornwall region of the UK.