Exeter Launches £5.6M Critical Minerals Challenge Centre to Drive Net Zero Innovation

The University of Exeter has officially launched the Critical Minerals Challenge Centre – a £5.6 million applied research initiative focused on accelerating innovation in critical mineral extraction and supporting the UK’s transition to Net Zero. 

The launch event, “Innovating Together in the Green Economy,” was held at the St Austell Conference Centre and brought together over 50 attendees from academia, industry, and civic organisations.

The event aimed to raise awareness of the new Centre, introduce its team of specialist Innovation Fellows, key industry partners and spark collaborative discussions around key themes including sustainable finance, value from mine waste, exploration and analytical technologies, and nature-positive solutions. 

The Centre is designed to foster transdisciplinary collaboration—linking ecology, sustainable investment, social sciences, policy, and industry—to address the complex challenges of critical mineral supply chains.  

“Today marks a significant step for this new Centre,” said Professor Frances Wall, Project Lead for the Centre. “Having a room full of people from diverse backgrounds and experience related to critical minerals has sparked some great conversations and ideas.

“We really want to work hand-in-hand with businesses and organisations both locally and nationally to tackle these problems, and I hope this event is just the start of some great relationships.” 

To date, the Centre has partnered with 30 organisations, including Cornish Lithium, Cornwall Resources, Geolorn and Petrolab who are co-leading the key themes, and is actively seeking to expand its network.

Over the next four years, it will work closely with industry to support the UK’s green transition, with the goal of becoming a self-sustaining entity by the end of its initial funding period. 

Professor Wall added: “We want to hear from people and organisations who are interested in joining as a Project Partner, have new project proposals or want to collaborate with our Research Team.” 

For more information please visit https://criticalmineralschallengecentre.co.uk/