March 19, 2026: The US government is offering funding of up to $500 million in a fresh bid to boost critical mineral and materials processing and derivative battery manufacturing and recycling.
The Department of Energy’s (DoE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation said on March 13 the move will expand domestic manufacturing of battery supply chains for defence, grid resilience, transportation, manufacturing and other industries.
The funding opportunity notice released by the DoE is the third round of funding issued through the department’s battery materials processing and battery manufacturing and recycling programs.
Funding awarded aims to support demonstration and/or commercial facilities for processing, recycling, or the use for the manufacture of critical materials which may include traditional battery minerals such as lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminium, as well as other minerals that are contained within commercially available batteries.
Energy secretary Chris Wright said: “For too long, the US has relied on hostile foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential in battery manufacturing and materials processing.”
With that in mind, the DoE said assistant energy secretary Audrey Robertson had recently held talks on supply chain resilience and energy security with other nations during the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Japan.
Robinson said: “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 US and our partners are prepared to meet the energy challenges of the 21st century.”
Batteries International reported last October that the US Geological Survey had started airborne surveys over portions of the Blue Mountains in California and adjacent areas to identify potential sites for the recovery of critical minerals essential to battery manufacturing and other industries.
That followed the addition of lead to the nation’s list of critical minerals, due to its essential role in battery technology, along with silicon and copper.
Last February, the DoE’s Office of Electricity reopened its ‘Beyond the Meter Prize’ — with a bigger pool of $3.4 million in cash prizes — to encourage advances in integrated energy storage systems.
The DoE said there were also $800,000 worth of vouchers on offer for successful entrants to work with national laboratories.
