Arizona State University will lead the new Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine, a multi-institutional effort to research and invent technologies that confront regional climate change and spur economic development. 

The U.S. National Science Foundation is allocating $15 million over the next two years to help develop the southwest engine, a first-of-its kind research hub.  

The goal is to unite academic, community, nonprofit and industry partners “to rapidly develop and deploy … research,” technology, policy and jobs that confront climate challenges in the desert Southwest .

Peter Schlosser is with ASU’s Global Futures Laboratory. He says some of the projects they will be starting on are, “scaling up the re-extraction of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to keep the planet at a cooler level than it would be without this measure," Schlosser said.

If successful, the engine could be renewed for up to a decade with an additional $160 million in funding.