Kickstarting the eMining Consortium

Summary: The mining industry relies on decades-old technologies that generate large amounts of waste, release CO2 emissions, and consume significant quantities of chemical feedstocks. As demand for critical minerals increases to support the global energy transition, minimizing these environmental impacts has become crucial, and electrochemical approaches offer a sustainable alternative, using renewable energy to enable circular economy principles through waste recycling and chemical production. However, key technological barriers have hindered commercial adoption. U of T researchers are addressing these challenges to bring electrochemistry to industrial implementation. This includes energy-efficient salt-splitting electrolyzers, impurity- tolerant membranes, and iron-removal electrolyzers. The eMining consortium aims to electrify the mining industry by advancing electrochemical technologies for critical mineral processing, uniting U of T expertise to drive industry-focused research inside U of T labs, with possible additions as the initiative progresses.