The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Mar. 13 a Notice of Funding Opportunity for up to $500 million to expand domestic processing, manufacturing, and recycling of critical minerals and battery materials.
This funding aims to strengthen the United States’ supply chain for batteries used in defense, grid resilience, transportation, manufacturing, and other industries. The initiative is intended to reduce reliance on foreign sources for essential materials and support national security.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, “For too long, the United States has relied on hostile foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential in battery manufacturing and materials processing. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is playing a leading role in strengthening these domestic industries that will position the U.S. to win the AI race, meeting rising energy demand, and achieve energy dominance.” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson added from Japan during meetings with regional allies at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum: “I am delighted to be in Japan meeting with our allies, underscoring the important connection between critical materials and energy security. Critical minerals processing is a vital component of our nation’s critical minerals supply base. Boosting domestic production, including through recycling, will bolster national security and ensure the United States and our partners are prepared to meet the energy challenges of the 21st century.”
The funding opportunity supports demonstration or commercial facilities focused on processing raw feedstocks into battery-grade materials; recycling scrap or end-of-life batteries; and increasing domestic capacity for strategic battery components. This marks the third round of funding under DOE’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs.
The Department has previously launched several initiatives aimed at advancing clean energy technologies. For example, it announced a $225 million program funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to implement updated building energy codes according to DOE. In July 2022, Secretary Jennifer Granholm encouraged international cooperation on clean energy transitions ahead of the Global Clean Energy Action Forum as shown in a DOE video. Technology development involving national laboratories has also been highlighted as crucial for environmental management missions according to testimony before Congress. Innovative processes such as using crushed marble have been applied at sites like Savannah River Site for groundwater remediation according to DOE Office of Environmental Management.
Other recent efforts include a $96 million funding opportunity announced in July 2022 aimed at decarbonizing transportation by expanding electric vehicle charging infrastructure and developing cleaner engines according to DOE. Additionally, 146 programs were introduced supporting President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative which seeks to direct federal investments toward disadvantaged communities as reported by DOE.
A webinar providing more information about this new funding opportunity will be held on March 26 at 1:00 PM ET. Non-binding letters of intent are requested by March 27 at 5:00 p.m., with applications due by April 24 at 5:00 p.m.
