Critical Materials Innovation Hub Research Highlights

Rare earth elements less toxic than copper, affected by solubility

CMI researchers at Colorado School of Mines conducted the research for this highlight

scatter plot for rare earth elements evaluated

Thermodynamics of rare earth elements (REE) to improve models for REE recovery

CMI researchers at Arizona State University conducted the research for this highlight

Enthalpies of dissolution of REE metals in 5 N HCl

CyRxnOpt: Generalized Interface for Process Optimization

CMI researchers at Ames National Laboratory and Iowa State University conducted the research for this highlight

Comparison of search patterns for four optimizers, helping understand algorithm behavior and efficiency. The top right may funnel to a suboptimal solution, the bottom right may favor the corners of the space, and the left two optimizers densely search the reaction space.

CMI research assistants move into employment at Argonne National Laboratory, Colorado Public Utility Commission

CMI researchers at Colorado School of Mines conducted the activity for this highlight

Maxwell Flemming and Sangita Gayatri are pictured at their last Critical Materials Innovation Hub meeting before graduation.

CMI early career researchers in workforce development program with TechConnect

CMI researchers at Colorado School of Mines conducted the activity for this highlight

Several CMI early career researchers were involved in the TechConnect Horizons Workforce Development Program at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 10-12, 2026. The group shown includes mostly first-time attendees, faculty and students from community colleges and universities.

CMI research earns three national technology transfer awards

CMI researchers at Ames National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted the research for this highlight

CMI research won three National Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) awards.

CMI Leadership Academy alum recognized in LLNL award

CMI researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducted the activity for this highlight

Yongqin Jiao, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Two CMI lithium extraction technologies selected for 2026 TechConnect Pitch Panel

CMI researchers at Ames National Laboratory conducted the research for this highlight

Two CMI technologies, MELLT and VITELiS, were selected for the Pitch Panel during the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 10-12, 2026.

2025 CMI Intern receives Best Poster Presenter Award

CMI researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted the research for this highlight

2025 CMI Intern Ernest Konadu-Yiadom, Colorado School of Mines, won the Best Poster Award at the Innovation in Critical Minerals and Materials Symposium at TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, March 10-12, 2026. He is shown centered between two of the symposium co-chairs Alison Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory, and Santa Jansone-Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

CMI hosts Critical Materials Symposium and Tutorial at TechConnect

CMI researchers at Ames National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory and Oak Ridge National Laboratory conducted the research for this highlight

CMI Focus Area Lead Santa Jansone-Popova, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, CMI Project Lead Andriy Palasyuk, Ames National Laboratory, and CMI Leadership Academy member Alison Fritz, National Energy Technology Laboratory, led the Innovations in Critical Minerals and Materials Symposium at TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo, Raleigh, North Carolina, March 10-12, 2026.