DOE Chooses 16 Universities for Critical Minerals Prize
The Energy Department has selected 16 universities to receive $16 million to train students for jobs in critical minerals–related fields (Utah Business).
The grants: The DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation will award the grants through its $100 million Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies (PROSPECT) initiative.
- “The winning universities will advance nationwide efforts to grow the skilled workforce required to produce, process, recover and recycle critical minerals in the United States while creating [well]-paying jobs.”
The schools: The chosen universities include the Colorado School of Mines, Columbia University, The University of Utah, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
Why it’s important: “For decades, we have allowed our mining and critical minerals workforce to decline and our domestic supply chains of critical minerals to weaken,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson.
- “PROSPECT is about reversing that trend by challenging universities to rapidly grow the number of graduates ready to build and sustain the American critical minerals supply chains, from mines to materials.”
NAM at work: Expanding and strengthening the mining workforce is a key piece of the NAM’s comprehensive critical minerals policy agenda, released earlier this year.
