Category: US and Canada

Why we must act now on critical minerals for a greener future 5/26/2023

Why we must act now on critical minerals for a greener future

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian and Simon Moores write about how critical minerals are vital for modern technology and the advent of electric vehicles have driven them to the top of the geopolitical agenda.  However, there is a big gap between supply and demand, as well as a disconnect between miners and users of these key raw materials.  Stakeholders must act now to enable the energy storage revolution, with decisions made now impacting the geopolitical order of the next century.  May 26, 2023.

Saudi to play significant part in mineral supply 5/24/2023

Saudi to play significant part in mineral supply

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian discussed how Saudi Arabia’s entry to the mineral supply equation is “significant.”  The intent for Saudi Arabia to be a key player in the mineral supply chain for the critical minerals space was there in Saudi Arabia, as well as the building blocks to have a downstream presence through processing industries. This was, however, not without its challenges.  May 24, 2023.

EV manufacturers look ahead amid high lithium demand 5/24/2023

EV manufacturers look ahead amid high lithium demand

Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian is featured on this podcast discussing on how EV manufacturers are dealing with increased competition to secure lithium used to produce batteries (second track).  May 23, 2023.

What You Should Do Is What You Can Do 5/23/2023

What You Should Do Is What You Can Do

Payne Institute Research Associate Baba Freeman is on this podcast discussing how as the world shifts toward green technology, how can African countries with abundant rare mineral reserves navigate and benefit from this change? What role do global financial systems play in responsibly investing in these minerals? With an in-depth analysis of the implications for developing countries in Africa and across the globe.  May 23, 2023.

Chevron’s $7.6B purchase of PDC Energy creates the biggest oil and gas company in Colorado 5/23/2023

Chevron’s $7.6B purchase of PDC Energy creates the biggest oil and gas company in Colorado

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler contributed to this article about how the Denver-based PDC Energy’s share price sagged under concerns over increased regulation, but the company has received 1,000 drilling permits in the last 10 months.  Chevron Corp. is buying PDC Energy in a $7.6 billion deal that will make it by far and away the largest oil and gas producer in Colorado and continues a trend in the state of bigger companies gobbling up smaller ones.  May 23, 2023.  

Feds allot $33 million to study carbon capture and storage in Pueblo region 5/22/2023

Feds allot $33 million to study carbon capture and storage in Pueblo region

Mines Global Energy Future Integrated CCUS Initiative Director Manika Prasad is leading the team from the Colorado School of Mines, the Los Alamos National Library and a private company, Carbon America, that were recently awarded a $32.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to study carbon capture and storage in the Pueblo area.  May 22, 2023.

Harnessing the VCM to retire orphaned oil and gas wells 5/19/2023

Harnessing the VCM to retire orphaned oil and gas wells

Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Manager Brad Handler writes about how the American Carbon Registry (ACR), a greenhouse gas registry, has released a methodology for creating carbon offset credits from plugging orphaned oil and gas wells.  These offset credits will be the first of their type to be issued through a major registry for the voluntary carbon market (VCM).  May 19, 2023.

Colorado School of Mines and Carbon America awarded $32.6M from U.S. Department of Energy CarbonSAFE Initiative 5/19/2023

Colorado School of Mines and Carbon America awarded $32.6M from U.S. Department of Energy CarbonSAFE Initiative

Mines Director of Global Energy Future Initiative – Integrated CCUS Initiative Manika Prasad is part of a team of Mines researchers that received funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support the development of a regional CO2 storage hub in concert with local stakeholders. Colorado School of Mines, Carbon America and Los Alamos National Laboratory have been awarded $32.6 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) initiative to advance the development of a potential carbon storage hub for the Pueblo, Colorado area.  May 19, 2023.

Colorado gets $32 million to create carbon-stuffing hub underground at Pueblo 5/18/2023

Colorado gets $32 million to create carbon-stuffing hub underground at Pueblo

Colorado School of Mines received $32 million Wednesday from the federal Department of Energy to study and develop a carbon sequestration hub in southern Colorado, considered a key to meeting greenhouse gas reduction goals in coming years.  The hub will be located in the Pueblo area, where massive carbon emissions from two power plants and cement kiln, among other major carbon producers, may need to be stuffed underground to meet state and U.S. climate change targets.  May 18, 2023.  

Colorado School of Mines launches interdisciplinary research initiative to tackle “forever chemicals” 5/18/2023

Colorado School of Mines launches interdisciplinary research initiative to tackle “forever chemicals”

Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Christopher Higgins, Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will be the lead investigator of the new initiative. PFAS@Mines will focus on development of treatment strategies for most challenging PFAS sites, improved methods to characterize human exposure.  May 18, 2023.