DOE to Offer Up to $500 Million in Funding for Battery Minerals, Recycling
The Department of Energy will provide up to half a billion dollars in funding to expand America mineral processing, battery metals manufacturing and recycling (POLITICO Pro, subscription).
What’s going on: “DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation is offering $500 million tied to the bipartisan infrastructure law to support demonstration and commercial-scale facilities that manufacture or recycle materials used in batteries and other energy technologies.”
Why it’s necessary: The United States has depended for too long on foreign nations for the critical materials we use, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement.
- This move and related ones by the administration will help the U.S. shore up its own supply chains of these materials so we can meet increasing energy demand and maintain American economic and technological leadership, he said.
The details: The DOE is looking to use the new funding specifically to beef up the domestic “processing, recycling or [use] for manufacturing” of minerals such as lithium, copper, graphite, aluminum and nickel.
- The administration aims to bolster critical minerals production by up to 15% by 2030.
The process: Projects chosen for funding will be selected in three main areas: minerals processing from raw feedstocks, domestic critical materials recycling and domestic battery materials and component manufacturing.
- This is the third round of funding issued under the DOE’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs.
The NAM says: “Strengthening U.S. supply chains for the minerals we rely on to manufacture everything from smartphones to defense tech is one of the highest priorities of manufacturers, and we believe recycling and reprocessing materials is key to accomplishing that goal,” said NAM Senior Director of Energy and Resources Policy Michael Davin.
- “This funding opportunity is a clear indication that the administration agrees and is willing to put the resources behind efforts to make the U.S. dominant in critical minerals.”