Everyone knows Kentucky for bourbon. What most people don’t know is that the state’s metals industry — at over $30 billion — is roughly three times the size of it. Recorded live at Churchill Downs during Scrap Expo in Louisville, Cliff sits down with Jerilyn Bristow, executive director of MI2, to talk about what that number means and what her organization is doing to make sure Kentucky stays the fastest growing metals state in the country.
■ Watch Episode 403 on YouTube: https://youtu.be/OJuMAZEOvB8
What Is MI2?
MI2 — the Metals Industry Innovation Initiative of Kentucky — is a 501c3 nonprofit founded by the Cabinet for Economic Development alongside Kentucky’s large metals manufacturers. Its mission is straightforward: support the growth of the metals industry in Kentucky, help solve industry-wide problems, and connect companies with the resources and partnerships that make that possible. Metals now represent nearly 20% of Kentucky’s GDP, and the state has become the fastest growing metals producer in the US — driven in part by companies choosing Kentucky specifically because of the infrastructure MI2 and the state government have built around the industry.
From Aluminum Cans to Tungsten: The Recycling Picture
Kentucky’s aluminum recycling rate sits at around 15% — Jerilyn calls it abysmal, and she’s right. MI2’s Million Cans Project is tackling that directly, partnering with schools and the Urban Mining Initiative to get students involved in collecting and learning about aluminum recycling. Every participating student gets a book explaining why recycling matters, and the program runs a contest to drive engagement. The goal is to build from aluminum into a broader culture of metals recycling across the state.
On the tungsten side, the picture is different — and this is where Project 74 comes in. Kentucky and the US actually have a strong tungsten recycling rate. The problem isn’t collection; it’s processing capacity. Too much recycled tungsten material is leaving the country because domestic processing infrastructure can’t handle the volume. Project 74 is designed to change that — Cliff describes it as one of the first state-of-the-art tungsten chemical processing plants in the United States, developed in partnership with the federal government, specifically to supply the defense industrial base. The expected impact: a 15% increase in domestic tungsten processing capacity for the defense sector.
