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The Center for Industrial Ecology at the Yale School of the Environment was established in September 1998 to provide an organizational focus for research in industrial ecology.

The Center brings together Yale staff, students, visiting scholars, and practitioners to develop new knowledge at the forefront of the field. Research is carried out in collaboration with other segments of the Yale community, other academic institutions, and international partners.

FMRG: Eco: Future Eco Manufacturing of Recyclable Soft Electronics

This Future Manufacturing Research Grant (FMRG) EcoManufacturing project will enable eco manufacturing of recyclable soft electronics by seamlessly integrating a select group of biodegradable/recyclable materials and sustainable manufacturing processes, guided by economic and environmental life-cycle assessment.

Converting Solid Waste to Jet Fuel Energy

Pratt & Whitney (P&W) and the Yale Center for Industrial Ecology (CIE) have partnered to explore the potential of converting municipal solid waste (MSW) to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in Connecticut. Thus far analysis is being conducted to determine if further investigation of MSW-to-SAF in CT is justified based on environmental, economic, and technical factors.

Wood Products as Sustainable Materials

Using innovative wood products to replace carbon-intensive materials such as steel and concrete is a nature-based solution to climate change and global resource challenges. However, concerns about the impact of wood products on forest carbon stock and ecosystems is a major barrier to their wide adoption.

Biochar Systems for Sustainable Applications in the Food-Energy-Water Nexus

Principal Investigator:

Yuan Yao

This is a five-year research project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. This project targets bridging knowledge gaps for biochar production and effective applications in enhancing Food-Energy-Water (FEW) Nexus sustainability by integrating LCA, techno-economic analysis, Geographic Information System, machine learning, and dynamic modeling.

Pathways to Sustainable Bioeconomy

Principal Investigator:

Yuan Yao

Bioeconomy is an emerging concept that uses biomass to produce energy, chemicals, and products. Biomass is related to many nature-based solutions to climate change. The Yao Lab develops systems analysis tools to understand the carbon, environmental, and economic implications of different biomass conversion technologies throughout their life cycle.

REMADE - A Dynamic Techno-economic Systems Modeling Framework for U.S. Fiber Recycling

Principal Investigator:

Eric Masanet PI, Marian Chertow Co-PI

The recycling of recovered fibers results in significant resource and CO2 emissions savings compared to primary feedstocks. With recent dramatic changes in the global recovered fiber markets, triggered in large part by Chinese import restrictions, considerable focus is being placed on process innovations to improve both U.S.

Environmental Implications of Emerging Technologies

Principal Investigator:

Yuan Yao

Understanding the potential environmental, economic, and societal impacts of emerging technology is critical to support decision-making related to fundamental research and technology development. The Yao Lab develops innovative modeling frameworks to understand the potential impacts of early-stage technologies and identify drivers of such impacts, aiming to guide the research towards the most robust and sustainable pathway.

Shared Autonomy for the Dull, Dirty, and Dangerous: Exploring Division of Labor Between Humans and Robots and Transforming the Recycling Sorting Industry

Principal Investigator:

Marian Chertow, Barbara Reck Co-PIs

During a four-year research project, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), an interdisciplinary team of researchers will examine whether a collaboration between humans and robots can improve the quality of these recyclables and the profitability of this vital yet struggling sector. At the same time, they will evaluate opportunities to create new human jobs that complement these automated systems.

Tracing past, present, and future battery critical elements in the United States: material flows of lithium and cobalt"

Principal Investigator:

Thomas Graedel

The Critical Materials Institute is an initiative by the Department of Energy to establish for the United States a more sustainable supply of rare and/or difficult to obtain materials. The Yale contribution to this project is to generate material flow analyses and future scenarios for a selection of critical materials.

Extended Producer Responsibility and Cities

Principal Investigator:

Reid Lifset

Among their functions, cities are an important locus for the production, consumption and disposal of products. Traditionally, manufacturers bear the responsibility for the impacts of making products, consumers for the usage-related consequences and local government bear the responsibility for the waste that results when products are discarded. This is changing.