The Accelerator for Supply Chain, Economy, and National Development will identify methods to accelerate domestic e-scrap recycling and increase recovery of critical materials.
Advanced Materials & Manufacturing Technologies Office
November 10, 2026
Estimated Read Time min
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation today launched the Accelerator for Supply Chain, Economy, and National Development (ASCEND), a lab-led collaborative that will advance the domestic recovery, processing, and recycling of critical materials from end-of-life electronics like phones, laptops, and hard drives.
“ASCEND will determine the most impactful opportunities to expand critical materials production through domestic electronics recycling,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary Chris Saldaña. “By bringing together National Laboratory expertise, industry engagement, and supply chain and economic analysis, this initiative will detect critical gaps, evaluate potential solutions, and identify opportunities to strengthen U.S. critical materials supply chains through recycling.”
Led by Idaho National Laboratory, with the National Laboratory of the Rockies and Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and funded by DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, ASCEND’s initial work will focus on understanding industry needs and establishing the analytical foundation needed to prioritize technological innovations. This includes examining the economics of recovering critical materials from different e-scrap streams, identifying supply chain gaps, and engaging companies across the value chain to understand what is preventing greater collection, recovery, processing, and reuse of materials.
These findings will pinpoint priority supply chain gaps and specific technologies and capabilities that could address the gaps. ASCEND is part of a larger effort to increase critical materials production by advancing targeted domestic recycling capabilities.
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