U.S. Awards $500 Million to Seven Critical Minerals and Battery Projects

According to industry reports, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a combined $500 million to seven projects focused on domestic critical minerals processing, battery recycling and advanced battery materials, as Washington seeks to expand supply chains for materials used in energy, industrial and defense applications.

Announced Aug. 20, the funding is the third round of awards under the DOE’s Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs. The selected projects are expected to add U.S. processing, recycling and battery-material production capacity and reduce reliance on overseas supply.

The largest awards include $100 million each for Lilac Solutions, Jervois and battery recycler Nth Cycle.

Lilac Solutions will use its $100 million award to develop a commercial lithium extraction and refining facility at Utah’s Great Salt Lake. The project will use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate. DOE documents put the first-phase capacity at 5,000 tonnes per year, with initial production targeted for 2028.

Jervois will receive $100 million to develop a U.S. cobalt refinery producing battery-grade cobalt sulphate and related materials. The project would establish domestic refining capacity for cobalt, which is used in batteries as well as electronics and defense applications. Jervois controls the Idaho Cobalt Operations and was taken private in 2025 following a pre-packaged bankruptcy restructuring.

Nth Cycle will also receive $100 million for a battery recycling facility in the southeastern United States. The plant is expected to process black mass from end-of-life lithium-ion batteries and battery manufacturing scrap using the company’s electro-extraction technology to produce high-purity metals and battery-grade materials.

The remaining four projects will each receive $50 million. Princeton NuEnergy will develop a demonstration facility in Georgia to recover and rejuvenate nickel-containing cathode materials from battery manufacturing scrap using a low-temperature plasma process.

Coreshell Technologies will use its award to establish U.S. production capacity for silicon-anode lithium-ion electrodes and cells. The project will use domestically sourced metallurgical silicon as an alternative to imported graphite and combine silicon-anode technology with dry-coating cathode technology.

Arcanum Ventures will develop a Gulf Coast facility to produce battery-grade ethylene carbonate, a key component of lithium-ion battery electrolytes. Elevated Materials will receive $50 million for a U.S. facility producing ultra-thin lithium-metal films and pre-lithiated materials for higher-energy and faster-charging batteries.

Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary at the DOE, told Reuters that the department received hundreds of applications for the latest funding round. She said the selected projects were considered among the most promising and offered strong potential returns in priority areas of the battery supply chain.

The awards come as the Trump administration seeks to expand domestic sources of critical minerals and reduce U.S. dependence on China and other foreign suppliers. The funding also follows the administration’s recent decision to block exports of black mass, increasing attention on domestic battery recycling and processing capacity.

Robertson said the Nth Cycle award was not tied to the black mass export decision, but added that the U.S. needs to build a domestic ecosystem for battery and black mass recycling and processing.

The seven projects cover several stages of the critical materials supply chain, from lithium extraction and cobalt refining to battery recycling, cathode material recovery, electrolyte production and advanced battery manufacturing.

Source: Yahoo Finance

SUNSHINE Spotlight: The $500 million DOE funding package targets domestic capacity across critical minerals processing, battery recycling and advanced materials, with three $100 million awards supporting lithium, cobalt and black mass projects.