Battery Production and Critical Minerals
Critical minerals are essential to batteries, semiconductors, magnets, advanced manufacturing, and other technologies that support energy security and economic competitiveness. (See the U.S. Department of the Energy and the U.S. Geological Survey for the current list of critical minerals and the U.S. Department of Energy for the current list of critical materials for energy technologies.)
The Energy Institute supports collaborative research at The University of Texas at Austin addressing all aspects of critical minerals and critical materials to help ensure a secure and resilient supply chain.
Featured Discussion
Lithium and Battery Supply Chains
Lithium is central to battery supply chains and the broader energy transition.
Research Themes
UT Austin researchers work across the critical minerals value chain, from resource discovery and extraction to separation, processing, advanced materials, recycling, and policy.
Resource Discovery, Extraction, and Subsurface Systems
UT researchers are advancing the science needed to identify, characterize, and responsibly develop critical mineral resources. This includes geosciences, geothermal-linked resources, reservoir characterization, and data-driven resource assessment.
Separation, Recovery, Recycling, and Water/Mineral Systems
Researchers are developing approaches to recover critical materials from brines, produced water, industrial waste, electronic waste, and other secondary sources.
Advanced Materials, Batteries, Semiconductors, and Manufacturing
Critical minerals are central to next-generation batteries, semiconductors, catalysts, photovoltaics, and other advanced energy technologies.
Policy, Supply Chains, Commercialization, and Societal Impact
Critical minerals research also includes legal, market, environmental, and geopolitical considerations that shape supply chain resilience and responsible development.
Sensing, Characterization, and Enabling Technologies
Advanced detection, measurement, and characterization tools are essential for identifying, separating, and validating critical materials.
Energy Institute Funded Strategic Seed Research Projects
2026
Securing the Battery Supply Chain: Mapping Graphite, Cathode, and Anode Vulnerabilities and Evaluating Government Equity Stakes in Mining
- Josh Busby, LBJ School of Public Affairs
- Nathan Jensen, Department of Government, College of Liberal Arts
- Michael Webber, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering, LBJ School of Public Affairs
Improving Catalyst Durability for CO2 Conversion by Electrolyte Engineering
- Yuanyue Liu, Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Joaquin Resasco, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Digital Twin for Commercial Water Electrolyzers: An Automated Intelligent Platform for the Scale-Up of Green Hydrogen
- Laxminarayan L. Raja, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Mike Lewis, Center for Electromechanics, Cockrell School of Engineering
Downhole Lithium Sensing and In Situ Extraction from Oilfield Brines
- Wen Song, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Zoya Heidari, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Plasma-Assisted Catalysis for Nonoxidative Methane Conversion into Hydrogen and Carbon Nanotubes
- Thomas Underwood, Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Charles Buddie Mullins, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Chemistry, Cockrell School of Engineering & Natural Sciences
- Michael Webber, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering | LBJ School of Public Affairs
2025
Efficient Synthesis of Sodium Phosphate Solid-State Electrolytes
- David Mitlin, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Donald Siegel, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Electrochemical Hydrogenation for Production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels
- Joaquin Resasco, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Yuanyue Liu, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Designing Sensitive Bioassays for Produced Water
- Lydia Maria Contreras, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Lynn Katz, Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Driving the Future of Power Value Chain Decarbonization
- Xiuling Li, Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Alex Q. Huang, Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
2024
Discovery of Modified Phosphate Solid Electrolytes for All-Solid-State Sodium Batteries
- David Mitlin, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Donald Siegel, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Scalable Tissue-Inspired Lithium Extraction Electrochemical Membranes
- Manish Kumar, Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Venkat Ganesan, McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
- Upendra Behera, Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Related Centers and Programs
Critical Materials Research Center
Advancing materials innovation to strengthen energy, infrastructure, technology, and national security.
Battery Research at UT Austin
Energy storage research across the Forty Acres involves fundamental electrochemistry, battery materials, device design, manufacturing, critical minerals sourcing and resource recovery, power systems, and related technologies.
Faculty and Researchers
- Daniel S. Alessi
Jackson School of Geosciences | Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences - Narayana R. Aluru
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering - Vaibhav Bahadur
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering - Upendra Behera
Cockrell School of Engineering | Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering - Joshua Busby
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs - James R. Chelikowsky
College of Natural Sciences | Department of Physics - Lydia Maria Contreras
Cockrell School of Engineering | McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering - David DiCarlo
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering - John S. Dzienkowski
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering - David J. Eaton
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology - Andrew Ellington
College of Natural Sciences | Department of Molecular Biosciences - Brent Elliott
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology - D. Emma Fan
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Chemical Engineering - Benny D. Freeman
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Chemical Engineering - Venkat Ganesan
Cockrell School of Engineering | McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering - Zoya Heidari
Cockrell School of Engineering | Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering - Alex Q. Huang
Cockrell School of Engineering | Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Nathan Jensen
College of Liberal Arts | Department of Government - Lynn E. Katz
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering - Brian A. Korgel
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Chemical Engineering - Manish Kumar
Cockrell School of Engineering | Fariborz Maseeh Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering - Toti E. Larson
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology and Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences - Benjamin Leibowicz
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering - Xiuling Li
Cockrell School of Engineering | Chandra Family Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering - Mike Lewis
Cockrell School of Engineering | Center for Electromechanics - Jung-Fu Lin
Jackson School of Geosciences | Department of Geological Sciences - Yuanyue Liu
Cockrell School of Engineering | Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering - Marek Locmelis
Jackson School of Geosciences | Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Bureau of Economic Geology - Yi Lu
College of Natural Sciences | Department of Chemistry - Arumugam Manthiram
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering - David Mitlin
Cockrell School of Engineering | Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering - Charles Buddie Mullins
Cockrell School of Engineering & College of Natural Sciences | McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering and Department of Chemistry - Jean-Philippe Nicot
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology - Zachariah Page
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Chemical Engineering - Michael Pyrcz
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering - Laxminarayan Raja
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics - Joaquin Resasco
Cockrell School of Engineering | McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering - Robert M. Reed
Jackson School of Geosciences | Department of Geological Sciences - Bridget Scanlon
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology - Donald Siegel
Cockrell School of Engineering | Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering - Wen Song
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering - Nicola Tisato
Jackson School of Geosciences | Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences - Estibalitz Ukar
Jackson School of Geosciences | Bureau of Economic Geology - Thomas Underwood
Cockrell School of Engineering | Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics - Wennie Wang
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering - Michael Webber
Cockrell School of Engineering | Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs - Charles Werth
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering - Guihua Yu
Cockrell School of Engineering | Department of Mechanical Engineering