SMU researcher selected to lead $25 million project advancing critical minerals technology

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected SMU researcher Saeed Salehi to receive $19.3 million in federal funding to lead the development of a first-of-its-kind research facility designed to accelerate new technologies for extracting critical minerals in the United States. With additional industry funding, the project represents a total investment of approximately $25 million.

The $19.3 million in federal funding, announced by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright during a visit to SMU, represents the largest individual research funding commitment in the University’s history. SMU is one of four organizations selected by the Department of Energy for a total of $73 million in funding through its Mine of the Future initiative to establish domestic testing grounds for innovative mining technologies.

“That money could have gone anywhere,” Secretary Wright said during his visit. “It was competed for vigorously. But the faculty, the university leadership and the students in this room are why a large chunk of that money is going right here at SMU. We believe in SMU. We believe in the university. We believe in the faculty. We believe in the leadership and the tremendous student body.”

Salehi, the Herman Brown Chair in Mechanical Engineering in SMU’s Lyle School of Engineering, will lead the Well-to-Mine Proving Ground project, which will create the world’s first synthetic mine embedded within an advanced oil-and-gas drilling and sensing test facility. The facility will allow researchers to test and validate new mining technologies under controlled, real-world conditions.

SMU will lead a team of industry and university partners bringing expertise in subsurface engineering, drilling systems, mining, artificial intelligence and digital-twin technology to the project.

“Professor Salehi’s work is a powerful example of the high-impact research we are advancing at SMU,” President Jay Hartzell said. “This project highlights the role of a research university in addressing challenges of national importance. We will bring together engineering, emerging technology, and expertise to advance innovation, deepen collaboration with industry, and create new opportunities for our students to work alongside leading experts on complex challenges.”

The project will repurpose advanced technologies developed for the oil and gas industry — including automated drilling, high-bandwidth telemetry, fiber-optic sensing, robotics and digital twins — to test and improve technologies for critical-mineral extraction. Researchers will be able to engineer mineral-bearing rock, place it in existing wells and repeatedly test new drilling, sensing and automation technologies, helping move promising innovations from laboratory research to field-scale demonstration and commercial use.

“Our location in the heart of North Texas places us at the intersection of academic discovery, industry leadership and entrepreneurial innovation, creating powerful opportunities to translate research into real-world impact,” said Rachel Mersey, executive vice president and provost. “We are incredibly proud of Dr. Salehi and the vision and expertise he brings to this groundbreaking work, which reflects the caliber and ambition of research at SMU.”

Industry partner NOV Inc. will provide access to its Research and Development Test Center in Navasota, Texas, including advanced drilling infrastructure, automated control systems, and other technologies that will support mining-focused testing and validation.

The project will also serve as a training ground for the next generation of engineers and mining professionals. Through AI-enabled training, digital-twin simulations and hands-on experience with advanced drilling and mining technologies, the project will prepare students and workers for careers using increasingly sophisticated mining systems.

“We have built the best oil and gas industry in the U.S., and we can unleash that expertise for mining,” Salehi said. “This is not something that’s going to happen in the lab. It’s going to go to the field, where we can test these technologies, refine them and ultimately move them toward the market.”