Dr. Max Frenzel is an assistant professor of Earth Systems Science and Engineering, and principal investigator of the Mineral Exploration and Exploitation Group (M[Ex]2) at KAUST. After earning his Ph.D. in economic geology examining the global availability and distribution of gallium, germanium and indium, Max spent one year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Adelaide, returning to Germany in 2018 as a postdoctoral researcher at the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF). From 2021 to 2025, he was a senior researcher at HIF and led the Economic Geology and Geometallurgy Group. Frenzel has more than ten years of teaching experience, including as a guest lecturer at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. He has raised over 2.5 million dollars in research funding, and is the recipient of several distinguished accolades. Frenzel is a valued member of international scientific groups such as the Society for Economic Geologists and German Mineralogical Society (DMG), and has served as the lead guest editor for an Elements issue on geometallurgy.​

In his research, Professor Frenzel aims to address the issues and opportunities associated with rapidly growing global mineral demand. He does so by examining different aspects of mineral supply chains, focusing on two central questions: ​

1. How can geological and mineralogical insights enhance the efficiency of mineral exploration and extraction? ​

2. What implications do geological, technological and economic constraints have for the availability of primary raw materials for the energy transition? ​

He combines a variety of data types (geological, mineralogical, geochemical, technological and economic) with data analysis and numerical modelling methods to answer these questions. At KAUST, his expertise is especially relevant to the mineral potential of Saudi Arabia, i.e., identifying where untapped resources may exist and how they can be utilized efficiently and sustainably.​