Center for American Supply Chain Resilience
New approaches to mining, extraction, and processing are required to secure a resilient supply of critical minerals for the purposes of economic and national security. The pathways to more electrification, manufacturing, and renewable technologies require more mined and processed materials, such as copper and lithium.
Currently, the global supply chain of critical minerals is tenuous and fraught with single points of failure. AUI has established the Center for American Supply Chain Resilience (CASCR) to help address these issues and seeks significant input and support from leaders in industry, government and academia. AUI is also engaged in collecting information on opportunities to enhance the critical mineral supply in the near and mid-term, even as we pursue the longer-term sustainability. Our aim is to increase the focus on the upstream supply chain of critical materials, identify both research gaps and technology development needs, integrate workforce development activities, and promote the rapid transition and deployment of technologies to green the supply chain.
Action Oriented
At AUI, we don’t just identify problems – we develop and deploy solutions. Through the CASCR, AUI will form partnerships and pursue research and development needed to secure a more resilient supply chain of critical materials.
A crucial step in securing a more resilient supply chain is to analyze the supply chain from source to final product and thereby enable supply chain optimization for a cleaner, more efficient and reliable supply of critical materials. AUI is a key partner with Leap Manufacturing in the UT Dallas BEACONS Center, and in support of BEACONS conducts this modeling and analysis activity. Our aim is that through better understanding of the critical materials supply chain, we can help inform policy for our environmental, economic and national security needs and provide data to support enhancing our country’s domestic manufacturing capabilities.