NSF Engines Development Award: Advancing the circular economy for lithium batteries (NV)

该区域创新引擎发展奖的重点是发展一个地区，在该地区，劳动力和经济发展实践、私营部门创新和使用启发型研究得到协调和一致，以支持锂生命周期的经济。锂是为我们的社会提供动力的关键元素，也是我们清洁能源未来所必需的。但目前，为美国经济提供动力的大部分锂都来自政治领导层不稳定或充满敌意的国家。正因为如此，以及为美国经济提供可靠、清洁的燃料的迫切需要，本次发展奖的合作伙伴和利益相关者将率先开展供应链管理，以控制关键材料的资源开采，并对锂电池进行重新发明、改造、再利用和回收。服务区域被定义为整个内华达州。这个地区非常适合支持美国的锂独立，因为它拥有美国唯一一个正在运营的锂矿，正在建设北美最大的锂矿，并且在粘土和盐水中含有重要的锂资源。这项工作的主要合作伙伴是内华达大学里诺分校、内华达州州长经济发展办公室和特拉基梅多斯社区学院，与数十家从事锂生命周期一个或多个州的公司合作。该发展奖将产生一个以使用为灵感的研发议程，探索锂提取、电池的利用和开发、旧电池的再利用以及锂电池的再生和回收等创新研究方法。创新文化将通过研究人员、工业和风险投资公司之间的相互作用和必要的技术资源的机会来培养。劳动力发展工作将包括在UNR创建锂电池生产和回收方面的劳动力技能证书以及电池技术辅修课程。目前，还没有协调一致的方法将研究机构、行业和初创企业的创新转化为实践，从而使整个地区的经济增长受益。该发展奖将使领导团队能够指导利益相关者和合作者通过为期24个月的共同创造想法、战略、创新和协议的过程，使行业、政府和学术界的合作伙伴在围绕锂生命周期建立的区域经济的共同优先事项上保持一致。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Regional Innovation Engines Development Award is focused on developing a region in which workforce and economic development practices, private-sector innovation, and use-inspired research are coordinated and aligned to support the economy of the lithium lifecycle. Lithium is a critical element that powers our society and is necessary for our clean energy future. But currently, much of the lithium that powers the American economy comes from countries whose political leadership is unstable or hostile. Because of this and the pressing need to reliably and cleanly fuel the American economy, the partners and stakeholders of this Development Award will pioneer supply chain management to control resource extraction of critical materials, and reinvent, rejuvenate, repurpose, and recycle lithium batteries. The region of service is defined as the entire state of Nevada. This region is uniquely suited to support America's lithium independence because it contains the only operating lithium mine in the US, is constructing the largest lithium mine in North America, and contains significant sources of lithium in clay and brine. The main partners for this effort are the University of Nevada, Reno, the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development, and Truckee Meadows Community College, working with dozens of companies engaged in one or more states of the lithium lifecycle.This Development Award will produce a use-inspired R&D agenda exploring innovative research methodologies for lithium extraction, utilization and development of batteries, repurposing of used batteries, and rejuvenating and recycling lithium batteries. A culture of innovation will be cultivated through opportunities for interaction and technical resources necessary for ideation and collaboration between researchers, industry, and venture capital firms. The workforce development efforts will include creating a workforce skills certificate in lithium battery production and recycling and a Batteries Technology minor at UNR. Currently, there is no coordinated approach to translating the innovations taking place at research institutions, industries, and start-ups into practice in a way that results in economic growth benefiting the entire region. This Development Award will enable the leadership team to guide stakeholders and collaborators through a 24-month process of co-creating ideas, strategies, innovations, and agreements to align partners across industry, government, and academia on joint priorities for a regional economy built around the lithium lifecycle.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.