Shale 2.0

Award ID: 2634532

Shale 2.0 will create a national platform for recovering critical minerals and materials directly from mature shale reservoirs. Many technologies important to the nation rely on minerals that the United States currently imports. At the same time, domestic shale reservoirs have existing wells, extensive infrastructure and decades of geological information that make them promising sources of these minerals. This project will explore how specially designed fluids can circulate underground to dissolve and mobilize valuable elements without mining rock at the surface. The work is intended to support secure mineral supplies, reduce environmental disturbance, and strengthen economic opportunities in energy producing regions. It also emphasizes clear communication with communities and responsible development guided by transparent science. The project will determine how critical minerals occur in shale, how engineered fluids can extract them safely, and how to recover these elements at the surface. Laboratory studies will measure how rocks respond to different fluid formulations under realistic pressure, temperature, salinity, and flow conditions. Predictive models will simulate fluid movement and chemical reactions across the reservoir. A modular surface processing system will separate and concentrate minerals through pretreatment, membrane fractionation, selective adsorption, and controlled precipitation. Results from these activities will be integrated into an analysis that evaluates technical feasibility and identifies the operating conditions needed for a pilot scale demonstration. The project will also develop training pathways that prepare workers for jobs in emerging mineral recovery industries. 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.

NSF Program Director: Lori A. Ziolkowski