U.S. Energy Department Announces $675 Million Program to Advance Critical Mineral Supply Chain

The U.S. Energy Department on Aug. 9 released a request for information on a $675 million critical materials research, development, demonstration, and commercialization program. The program, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aims to advance domestic production and sourcing of critical materials to mitigate vulnerabilities in the domestic supply chain.

Several clean energy technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, solar panels, and wind turbines require critical materials, including rare-earth elements, lithium, nickel, and cobalt. At present, the country relies heavily on foreign suppliers for such materials, which could put the country at an economic disadvantage and slow the transition to a clean energy economy. Therefore, the program is expected to support the Biden administration’s goal to achieve a carbon-free electric grid by 2035, reduce transportation sector emissions, and attain net zero emissions by 2050.

This program aims to invest in the building blocks of clean energy technologies that will revive manufacturing leadership and create jobs by increasing the country’s ability to source, process, and manufacture critical materials locally, according to the press release.

The critical materials program was established through the Energy Act of 2020 and is responsible for developing technologies, materials, and components by promoting efficient production and use, and circular economy approaches to ensuring a sustainable and diverse supply of critical materials for the long term. The agency will continue its decade-long commitment through the program to advance critical materials supply chains, including fundamental materials science research, public-private partnerships, and demonstration projects to corroborate and commercialize novel technologies. This program will integrate and expand the department’s existing activities and coordinate with several other critical material-related initiatives.

The RFI invites feedback and comments from federal and state agencies, industry, labor unions, academia, community-based organizations, and tribes on the selection criteria, structure and adoption mechanism, and distribution and timing of funds for the program by Sep. 9, 2022. The department may use the information collected from this RFI for planning purposes, including developing future critical materials funding announcements.