The University of Missouri System Critical Materials Crossroads Engine will work to onshore and sustain production capacity for critical minerals used across the transportation, energy, communication and national security sectors. (Photo courtesy of UMKC)
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is part of a regional consortium with fellow University of Missouri System universities and others that are working to onshore and sustain production capacity for critical minerals, strengthening national security and energy independence while driving economic development.
The National Science Foundation selected the University of Missouri System Critical Materials Crossroads Engine for the NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, which will come with up to $160 million in funding. The award is potentially the largest in Missouri higher education history and one of the nation’s most significant investments in rebuilding America’s domestic critical materials ecosystem.
“NSF Engines investments in critical technologies and future industries will transform America’s innovation infrastructure for decades to come,” said Brian Stone, performing the duties of the NSF director.
Initiated by the UM System in 2022, the NSF Critical Materials Crossroads Engine is driven by a coalition of more than 260 partners spanning higher education, industry, entrepreneurship, government and community and workforce development organizations in Missouri and Kansas.
“This initiative demonstrates what can happen when higher education, industry and government unite behind a shared purpose,” said Todd Graves, chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. “This significant investment positions Missouri to lead in an area that is vital to our nation’s future while creating lasting opportunities for our universities, citizens and economy.”
“This consortium exemplifies the power of the University of Missouri System’s four research universities working together to address one of our nation’s most pressing strategic challenges,” said University of Missouri President Mun Choi, who praised University of Missouri–Kansas Chancellor Mauli Agrawal and Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives Anthony Caruso for their leadership of the initiative. “We are creating a collaborative enterprise that makes a transformative impact for our state and country.”
Currently, the United States imports most of the critical materials essential to modern life in sectors such as transportation, energy, communication and national security. China dominates large portions of the global supply chain. Congressional leaders supporting the initiative warned that America’s dependence on foreign adversaries for these materials represent an active and growing vulnerability to U.S. national security and economic independence.
“For decades, the United States has steadily lost much of the workforce, infrastructure and manufacturing capacity required for critical materials production,” said Caruso, who founded the Critical Materials Crossroads Engine and will serve as the principal investigator leading the initiative. “This investment allows us to rebuild that capability here in America — creating jobs, strengthening our national resilience and ensuring the technologies that power our future can be produced domestically.”
The Critical Materials Crossroads Engine, which is also being done in partnership with the University of Kansas and Kansas State University, is expected to create approximately 10,000 jobs by 2036 across manufacturing, research and development, logistics, engineering, construction and workforce training that will generate real economic growth for Missouri and the broader region.
The consortium is one of 12 U.S. teams across 20 states to be selected for NSF Regional Innovation Engines awards. The awardees are tasked with building and scaling new innovation clusters in different sectors that aim to accelerate the development of critical technologies, grow regional economies and secure America’s position of at the forefront of science and technology.
The UM System’s leadership in critical materials extends beyond the Critical Materials Crossroads Engine. The University of Missouri is the nation’s most important producer of radioisotopes for theranostics and medical imaging calibration using the largest university research reactor in the nation. Missouri University of Science and Technology is internationally recognized for its mining and geological research and is also a recipient of a U.S. Department of Commerce Tech Hub award. University of Missouri-St. Louis leads innovative manufacturing efforts of active pharmaceutical ingredients in partnership with industry and government partners.
