Frank Han
Missouri University of Science and Technology, MO·Materials Science
Sustained work on the Moon will need thousands of kilograms of building materials, manufacturing feedstocks, and breathable oxygen. Launching these from Earth is very expensive.
- Fields
Materials Science
Engineering
Chemistry
- Topics
in-situ resource utilization
lunar regolith
molten salt electrolysis
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through Jul 2027
What they work on
- Assess the commercial translation potential of molten calcium chloride electrolysis for producing aluminum and oxygen from lunar regolith, through customer interviews across the space and industrial sectors.
- Evaluate the advantages of a two-step process, mineral-to-alumina conversion followed by electrochemical reduction, that has yielded aluminum purer than 95 percent with corrosion-resistant electrodes.
- Identify markets in space infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and terrestrial metal extraction, including possible adaptation of the platform to titanium and iron.
More about the research
Making them from lunar soil, called regolith, could reduce the mass that must be launched and lower mission costs. The same electrochemical methods might also make metal production on Earth more efficient.
Why it matters
Producing aluminum and oxygen on the Moon could cut the cost of launching construction materials and life-support supplies. That could help space agencies and commercial companies sustain operations on the Moon. Lower-temperature, selective electrochemical processing could also make metal production on Earth more efficient and supply chains more resilient.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
Closest labs
Weiwei Mo
University of New Hampshire, NH·Engineering·Early-career
Test how risk attitudes, interorganizational networks and access to life cycle assessment results shape sustainability outcomes in drinking water emergency response, using a serious game played by stakeholders.
Ling Fei
University of Louisiana at Lafayette, LA·Engineering
Develop molten carbonate fuel cells with three-dimensional electrodes that concentrate CO2 while producing electricity, aiming for better performance and stability.
Karthish Manthiram
California Institute of Technology, CA·Chemistry
Test the hypothesis that breaking the nitrogen triple bond at a titanium(II) catalyst center is the rate-determining step in electrochemical ammonia synthesis driven by alkali metal electron donors.
The school
Missouri University of Science and Technology: 7 labs on PI Pages, $70M a year on research, 96 research doctorates a year.
Reach out
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