The National Science Foundation has awarded 45 million dollars to Great Lakes RENEW to expand a regional initiative that recovers energy, nutrients, critical elements, and water from wastewater over the next three years.

Current leads the Great Lakes RENEW Regional Innovation Engine, a program that could total up to 160 million dollars in NSF funding over ten years to build connected testbeds and advance resource-recovery tech for minerals and contaminant removal across Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

The project began in 2024 with a 15 million NSF award establishing it as an NSF Regional Innovation Engine; the new three-year grant aims to broaden programs, partnerships, and implementation, with potential milestones that unlock up to 160 million dollars over a decade.

Argonne National Laboratory, the University of Chicago, and industry and education partners are collaborating to move innovations toward real-world deployment and market readiness.

The initiative emphasizes workforce development, with Argonne leading STEM and AI-ready training across K-12 to higher education to prepare a regional water workforce for an AI-enabled economy.

The plan is to build regional workforce infrastructure through STEM education and targeted training, leveraging Argonne’s programs to create clear career pathways in the water sector across six states: Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota.

Key figures such as Alaina Harkness, CEO of Current, and Junhong Chen of the University of Chicago/Argonne lead the effort, underscoring water security as national security and the project’s potential for regional economic impact.

Argonne is advancing membrane, biological, and electrochemical separation technologies to recover clean water and extract minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earth elements from wastewater, while also reclaiming nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

Officials expect the funding to attract water-intensive manufacturers to the region, unlock value from wastewater streams, and create regional career pathways as pilot projects and spending plans roll out.

RENEW is framed as a national strategy to create durable regional innovation engines that bolster local economies, water security, and resilient supply chains.

Phase expansion will begin in Illinois, Ohio, and Wisconsin, with planned growth into Indiana, Michigan, and Minnesota in the next stage.

The coalition includes universities, utilities, national labs, and private firms—over 75 partners—enabling pilots, commercialization, and significant regional investment in water innovation.