A44E0C7BF4EE26E1872584710063DF80 Hearing Summary

Dr. Ryan Richards, Colorado School of Mines, presented to the committee on the NEXUS Project and zero waste, and provided a handout to the committee (Attachment H). He discussed how materials are re-mined. He outlined the NEXUS Project, and discussed how it provides technical expertise, analyses, and policy expertise to the project partners. Dr. Richards outlined the workshops held as part of the NEXUS Project.

Dr. Birdie Carpenter, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), discussed some of the products that have challenges regarding recycling and waste disposal, like wind turbines and lithium-ion car batteries. She discussed composites and polymers.

Dr. Nancy Haegel, NREL, discussed the leveraging of existing programs and collaborations. She discussed federal programs that provide funding to develop commercial markets related to clean energy and zero waste technologies. She discussed the Advanced Energy Systems, which is a unique interdisciplinary program focused on energy sciences.

The panel answered questions about how the technologies being developed could be implemented, the re-mining of electric vehicle batteries, and the life cycle of solar panels. The panel addressed questions about how interested various industries are in partnering with the NEXUS Project to address single-use plastics.