OLI Systems Secures $400K DOE Contract Extension to Advance Thermodynamic Modeling for Critical Materials

PARSIPPANY, N.J., July 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OLI Systems, a global leader in water chemistry simulation, has received $400,000 in research funding through a contract extension from the U.S. Department of Energy's Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI), operated by Ames National Laboratory. This two-year renewal brings OLI's total Phase III research funding to $750,000.

OLI will continue to serve as the lead commercial partner for the thermodynamic modeling project, a research initiative aimed at enhancing domestic access to rare earth elements and other critical materials. Under the new contract, OLI will provide modeling tools to advance material recovery and recycling, as well as to support process development across the CMI research network.

"Our collaboration with CMI highlights the role of predictive chemistry in strengthening national resource strategies," said Dr. Andre Anderko, Chief Science Officer at OLI. "By translating experimental data into robust models, we help technical teams improve efficiency and reduce risk in process design."

OLI will partner with leading academic institutions, Rutgers University and Arizona State University, to expand thermodynamic data and simulation capabilities for rare earth and lithium separation. These models convert solubility and reaction data into free energy expressions, enabling researchers to simulate chemical behavior and improve system design with greater precision.

Phase III of CMI now includes more than 40 participating national labs, universities and private sector industry partners. In this increasingly competitive landscape, OLI's continued selection underscores the strength of its modeling approach and its proven track record of collaboration across federal research programs.

"This extension affirms our commitment to bridging chemistry insight with operational needs," said Vineeth Ram, Chief Sustainability Officer at OLI. "We're proud to support the DOE's broader effort to build resilient, scalable solutions for critical materials."

OLI's work with CMI complements its contributions to other federally funded initiatives in critical materials recovery, geothermal energy and carbon infrastructure, reinforcing its role as a trusted partner for predictive chemistry solutions in complex, high-stakes environments.

About OLI

OLI equips industrial teams with simulation software to address complex chemical challenges and guide critical decisions with precision. As a trusted partner in demanding environments, it delivers predictive models, cloud solutions and expert consulting that have been proven over decades of industrial use to support efficient operations. OLI technology helps users reduce risk and plan with long-term confidence.

SOURCE OLI Systems