Energy Department Announces $355 Million to Expand Domestic Production of Critical Minerals and Materials

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $355 million for two notices of funding opportunities issued by DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy (FE) to expand domestic production of critical materials essential for advancing U.S. energy production, manufacturing, transportation and national defense. The first funding opportunity provides up to $275 million for American industrial facilities capable of producing valuable minerals from existing industrial and coal byproducts. The second provides up to $80 million to establish Mine of the Future proving grounds for real-world testing of next-generation mining technologies.

The Department announced in August its intent to invest $1 billion to advance and scale mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies, delivering on President Trump’s Executive Orders, Unleashing American Energy and Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production. These actions will secure America’s critical material supply chain, increase domestic mineral production, reduce reliance on foreign sources, and strengthen U.S. energy independence.

“For too long, the United States has relied on foreign nations for the minerals and materials that power our economy,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “We have these resources here at home, but years of complacency ceded America’s mining and industrial base to other nations. Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, we are reversing that trend, rebuilding America’s ability to mine, process, and manufacture the materials essential to our energy and economic security.”

“The Mine of the Future - Proving Ground Initiative will be among the Department of Energy’s first major investments into mining technology research and development in almost four decades,” said U.S. Department of Energy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy Kyle Haustveit. “This effort will help establish the United States as the world’s leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals—creating economic prosperity in fossil energy communities across the country while strengthening critical mineral supply chains for the United States and its allies.”

Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting By-Product Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities 

FE announced up to $275 million under the Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) to address the potential for America’s industries to recover valuable critical materials by piloting promising future separation and recovery technologies directly at industrial sites.

This NOFO includes two focus areas for the design, construction, and operation of large pilot-scale facilities to produce critical materials:

• Coal-based feedstocks – advancing and accelerating demonstration of critical material production using coal-based resources as feedstocks.
• Industrial byproducts and wastes – open to all U.S. industry sectors that produce market-ready materials where industrial byproducts and/or wastes can be a source of crucially needed critical materials.

These pilots will demonstrate the feasibility of recovering critical minerals from existing American infrastructure and industrial activity, reducing waste while building new domestic supply chains for high-value materials. Read the complete NOFO here.

Mine of the Future – Proving Ground Initiative  

FE also announced up to $80 million under the Mine of the Future – Proving Ground Initiative NOFO, which supports DOE’s broader Mine of the Future initiative to accelerate technology commercialization and increase the competitiveness of domestic mining operations.

Field sites are essential for minerals and mining stakeholders to test innovative technologies under real-world conditions. Awards made under this NOFO will not only develop mining proving grounds but also support R&D projects that accelerate technologies past laboratory and/or bench scale to testing and demonstration in a field-scale setting, an essential step to de-risk commercial adoption of these new mining technologies.

Projects selected under this initiative will also create opportunities for hands-on workforce training to prepare the next generation of American miners and engineers to operate advanced mining systems safely and efficiently. Read the complete NOFO here.

The application deadline for both NOFOs is December 15, 2025, by 5:00 PM ET.