Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Department of Energy said it will offer up to $500 million to expand the domestic production of critical minerals and materials for advanced batteries. This is its third related funding round since 2022.
• The agency’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation seeks up to 10 projects that support the processing or recycling of critical minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminum and other battery materials, in an effort to expand domestic supplies.
• Applications are due April 24 by 5 p.m. EDT. A webinar with more details is scheduled for March 26, at 1 p.m. EDT. The grant programs aim to increase domestic production by up to 15% by 2030 to reduce the nation’s reliance on international supplies.

Dive Insight:

The Energy Department opened up this funding opportunity as Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson held talks with allies at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Japan about energy security issues and strategies to enhance supply chain resiliency.

“Critical minerals processing is a vital component of our nation’s critical minerals supply base,” Robertson said in a statement. “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.”

Within the $500 million total,the agency plans to grant between $50 million and $100 million to each recipient, according to the Energy Department’s funding opportunity notice. It looks to award up to four grants for projects that support battery materials and component manufacturing, as well as an additional four for critical materials processing from raw feedstocks. It also looks to fund up to two projects that support critical minerals recycling.

Each award requires a cost-share of at least 50% by the recipient, according to the Energy Department. Projects submitted by higher education institutions, national laboratories, nonprofits and for-profit entities, as well as state and local governments, are eligible for grant consideration.

The Energy Department’s battery materials processing and manufacturing program awarded nearly $5 billion in grants to 39 projects over the course of two years during the Biden administration, according to its website. 

The agency has recently sought to shorten its application timeframes to convey a sense of urgency in the solutions needed to address critical minerals supplies, Chris Saldaña, deputy assistant secretary at the Energy Department’s office of critical minerals, materials and manufacturing, said at the Remade Institute’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.

“We want to solve this problem in the short term,” he said. “We’re going to address capacity. I think the opportunity with recycled feedstocks is significant for short-term impact. We also want to, obviously, make sure that we’re sustainable in the long term.”

“There’s going to be more opportunities as we dig further into this,” Saldaña added.

Waste Dive Senior Reporter Megan Quinn contributed reporting for this story.