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The Great Lakes region is home to one-fifth of the world's fresh water, but that could soon change.
The National Science Foundation has announced a $160 million, 10-year investment in a coalition of six states that aims to turn "waste into wealth," the Chicago Tribune reports.
The project is called Great Lakes ReNEW, and its goal is to recover nutrients, critical materials, and energy from the region's water, as well as clean up contamination from chemicals like PFAS.
"The Great Lakes region has the opportunity to lead the world in solving water challenges, from PFAS contamination to recovering nutrients, critical materials, and energy," says Alaina Harkness, CEO of Current, the Chicago-based water innovation hub that's part of the coalition.
The six states are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ohio.
The NSF says its investment in Great Lakes ReNEW will "dramatically accelerate" the pace of water innovation in the region, which is already home to more than a dozen water startups.
Harkness and Junhong Chen, a University of Chicago professor and lead water strategist at the National Science Foundation's Argonne National Laboratory, will discuss the project at a City Club of Chicago event on May 21.
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