Professor Alan Weimer's carbothermal reduction process for producing magnesium metal using a hybrid solar/electric reactor was one of three projects highlighted at May’s Colorado Energy Expo.
The Expo’s keynote address was given by Dr. Ellen Williams, Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). In her talk, Williams outlined ARPA-E's mission to support innovative energy research and highlighted Weimer’s project and its $3.6M ARPA-E award as one such example. Weimer’s group is developing a new process to produce magnesium that can be used to make lightweight vehicle parts.
Williams went on to praise Weimer's team and the other work being done at CU-Boulder. Since the ARPA-E's inception in 2009, CU-Boulder has received four awards totaling more than $9 million.