At the EEGL, we work with industry and government partners to turn industrial wastes into resources for CO₂ sequestration and recovery of critical metals needed for green energy technologies. We study and enhance natural, energy efficient processes that trap and store atmospheric CO₂ in lakes, rocks and soil. Our nature-inspired approach to critical metal recovery from waste minerals uses the same pathways that produce metal rich soils called ‘laterites’, which are our largest source of nickel and that supply other metals needed to make batteries.

Since 2015, we have been leading field-based pilots for CO₂ sequestration with enhanced critical metal recovery from mineral wastes. We work collaboratively with companies and governments to develop practical, customized solutions.

We study how greenhouse gases, nutrients and metals are cycled in natural chemical sediments. Our fundamental, curiosity-driven work on mineral–fluid–microbe interactions informs our applied work by teaching us how to work within natural systems.