The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it will be issuing notices of funding opportunities (NOFO) for almost US$1B as a way to accelerate the advancement and scaling of mining, process, and manufacturing across the critical minerals supply chains. The funding announcement was issued as a complement to President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy Executive Order, which is focused on ensuring more secure, predictable, and affordable supply of critical minerals used for energy, national security, and more.
Expected NOFOs include:
· $50M through the Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator programme, focusing on processes in the rare-earth magnet supply chain; processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductors; cost-competitive technologies for direct lithium extraction and separation; and critical-material separation technologies that allow for the co-production of useful products from byproducts and scrap
· $250M for American industrial facilities that can produce valuable mineral byproducts from existing industrial processes
· $135M to enhance domestic supply chains for rare earth elements
· $500M to expand US critical mineral processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling
· $40M develop technologies to recover critical minerals form industrial wastewater
US Secretary of Energy, Chris Wright commented, “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.”
