MnDRIVE Environment
The MnDRIVE Environment Program supports research and partnerships that develop sustainable solutions to environmental grand challenges, thereby enhancing quality of life and economic vitality in Minnesota and beyond.
2024 funded projects announced
We are pleased to support six projects in 2024 that align with MnDRIVE Environment funding priorities, advancing sustainability topics including water quality, food systems, and clean energy. This year, grantmaking was facilitated through our host Institute on the Environment’s Impact Goals grantmaking program.
MnDRIVE Research Stories
We value long-lasting solutions that are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Learn more about our impact and research success stories.
Beyond Scrubbing: Reducing Sulfate Stress from Wastewater at Minnesota Power’s Last Coal-burning Power Plant
When Minnesota Power ceases coal operations at its last coal-fired power plant, the company must also manage the sulfate-laden wastewater in its retention pond. However, current sulfate-treatment technologies are expensive and energy-intensive. With help from a MnDRIVE Environment Demonstration Grant, University of Minnesota researchers have partnered with Minnesota Power to develop an integrated biological treatment system that can contribute to life-cycle management options of wastewater.
Hog Manure Revisited
With funding from a MnDRIVE Environment Demonstration Grant, UMN researcher Roger Ruan makes the most of manure.
Where others see waste, Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering professor Roger Ruan sees opportunity—in this case, repurposing wastewater from livestock operations to extract economic value and address a potential environmental threat from one of Minnesota’s largest industries: hog farming.
Forever Chemicals, Hemp, and Nanotech: An Unconventional Approach to PFAS Remediation
With seed funding from the MnDRIVE Environment Program, UMN researcher Christy Haynes seeks to address forever chemicals using an unconventional duo: industrial hemp and nanotechnology.