The investment will support various projects from mining and processing to manufacturing and recycling, bolstering American energy dominance and national security.
In a significant move to fortify America’s energy and industrial future, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced its intent to issue notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) totaling nearly $1 billion. This substantial investment is designed to accelerate and scale up domestic mining, processing, and manufacturing capabilities for critical minerals.
The proposed funding will be distributed through several key programs, each targeting a different stage of the supply chain. The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office is planning to release a NOFO of up to $50 million through the Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Accelerator program. Priority areas include processes for rare-earth magnet supply chains, refinement of materials for semiconductors like gallium and silicon carbide, and cost-effective technologies for direct lithium extraction.
The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management will provide approximately $250 million in financial assistance to domestic industrial facilities. This Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion program will support pilot-scale projects for recovering valuable mineral byproducts from existing industrial processes, especially coal-based industries.
The Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains (MESC) has announced its intent to issue a NOFO of up to $135 million for a Rare Earth Elements Demonstration Facility. The goal is to prove the commercial viability of methods for refining and recovering REEs from unconventional sources like mine tailings, deleterious material, and waste streams.
The largest portion of the funding, up to $500 million, is allocated to the Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling Grant Program, also through MESC. This program is designed to expand U.S. capacity for processing and recycling critical minerals like lithium, graphite, nickel, and copper, as well as manufacturing derivative battery components. This significant funding opportunity will support the establishment of demonstration and commercial facilities, with a required recipient cost-share of at least 50%.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is preparing to announce selections for its $40 million Realize Energy-rich Compound Opportunities Valorizing Extraction from Refuse waters (RECOVER) program. This initiative will fund technologies to recover critical minerals from industrial wastewater.
Talking about the initiatives, U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright emphasized the importance of this effort, stating, “For too long, the United States has relied on foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential to modern life and our national security. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department will play a leading role in reshoring the processing of critical materials and expanding our domestic supply of these indispensable resources.”
