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Missouri S&T highlights $28.5M EDA grant for critical minerals testbed
Summary
Missouri University of Science and Technology told the Emerging Issues Committee it leads a federally backed technology hub to process critical minerals, with a $28.5 million Economic Development Administration award, a multi‑county consortium and job and economic activity estimates for the region.
Mo DeGhani, chancellor of Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), told the Emerging Issues Committee that Missouri S&T leads a federally designated Technology Hub for Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Technologies funded under the CHIPS and Science Act.
DeGhani said the Economic Development Administration notified the university on Jan. 14 of a $28,500,000 grant to strengthen critical minerals processing in Missouri, supporting a testbed facility the university will host. He described the center as one of 31 national innovation technology hubs selected from more than 400 applications and said the designation is permanent and the only hub in Missouri.
DeGhani said Missouri contains deposits or tailings with 29 of the 50 minerals classified as critical and that Missouri S&T has longstanding expertise across mining, metallurgy, chemical engineering and related fields. He told the committee the university already conducts about $22 million in critical‑minerals research and listed elements under study, including cobalt, nickel, platinum‑group metals, tellurium, gallium and germanium.
“If you don’t have germanium, you don’t have fiber optics,” DeGhani said, using examples to underscore the materials’ industrial importance. He also noted recent export controls by China on gallium and germanium as evidence of strategic vulnerability.
DeGhani presented projected economic impacts from the hub and associated activity: an estimated $34,000,000,000 in regional economic activity within 10 years and a plan that could create about 4,000 direct jobs in the technology cluster and 23,000 total jobs in Missouri. The hub’s phase‑two work, he said, will fund a testbed facility to process ore into “application‑ready” materials and will focus on research, recovery methods and policy development for mineral recovery.
DeGhani emphasized the consortium model, which he said includes 14 counties in south‑central Missouri and partners across higher education, government and industry. He requested continued legislative support to carry out phase‑two experiments and to provide application‑ready material for Missouri industry.
The presentation was informational; no legislative action or committee directive occurred during the hearing.
