Mineral Security & Sustainability
Powering sustainable development through responsible resource innovation
Overview
Minerals are essential to clean energy, digital technologies, and global development. This theme pioneers solutions to ensure secure, ethical, and sustainable mineral supply chains—from discovery to responsible use—through fundamental science and cross-sector partnerships.
Focus Areas
- Sustainable mining and circular economy
- Critical minerals and supply chain resilience
- Resource discovery and geoscience innovation
- Environmental and community impact assessment
- Industry transitions and regulatory innovation
Flagship Projects
- Affordable and Clean Energy
- Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- Responsible Consumption and Production
- Climate Action
Projects are aligned to UN Sustainable Development Goals
Opportunities
The QUEX Institute provides diverse funding opportunities to foster collaboration between the University of Exeter and the University of Queensland.
These include support for joint workshops, high-impact research and education projects, and professional services fellowships. Each initiative aims to strengthen interdisciplinary partnerships, drive strategic priorities, and deliver meaningful, lasting impact aligned with the Institute’s key themes.
UQ-Exeter Accelerator Grants
Opens September 2025. UQ-Exeter Accelerator Grants are intended to support larger scale initiatives with the aim of securing external funding and/or producing high level outputs and impact.
Call for PhD Projects
Opens January 2026. Building on a platform of active collaboration and academic exchange, the UQ-Exeter Institute is continuing to build capacity and jointly invest in enhancing the opportunities for our researchers through UQ-Exeter PhD projects.
UQ-Exeter Professional Services Staff Fellowship
Opens March 2026. The fellowship program is designed to provide professional development opportunities and to share best practice and experience between professional colleagues at UQ and Exeter.
UQ-Exeter Institute Workshop Grants Scheme
Currently opens until 17 June. The UQ-Exeter Institute Workshop Grants are designed to broaden academic and research collaboration between UQ and Exeter and are intended to support the delivery of, and attendance at, joint workshops and symposia.
UQ-Exeter Institute Strategic Grant Scheme
Opens August 2025. The scheme is intended to support teams that can demonstrate world-leading research at both institutions, strong strategic alignment and clear plans to attract and leverage external funding to achieve long-term collaborative research goals.
Connect with our researchers
Professor Karen Hudson-Edwards
(University of Exeter)
Associate Professor Steven Micklethwaite
(University of Queensland)
