Overview

• The Energy Department will issue notices of funding opportunities across five tracks totaling nearly $1 billion for battery materials, industrial byproduct recovery, a rare-earth demonstration facility, a critical minerals accelerator and wastewater recovery.
• Each funding opportunity will mandate a minimum 50% non-federal match to mobilize private investment and de-risk pilot and commercial-scale projects.
• Targeted technology gaps include direct lithium extraction, rare-earth magnet supply chains, refining semiconductor-grade materials like gallium and silicon carbide, battery recycling and recovery from industrial wastewater.
• The NOFOs align with President Trump’s Unleashing American Energy executive order and build on Pentagon investments such as the Defense Department’s stake in MP Materials.
• Programs emphasize alternative feedstocks—industrial byproducts, mine tailings and wastewater—to shorten development timelines and reduce reliance on foreign processing capacity.