Selected projects will advance innovative solutions that lower the cost of producing key commodities and strengthen domestic supply chains
Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation
September 1, 2026
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WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) today awarded $117 million to 56 projects that will strengthen the competitiveness of key American industries through energy and cost-saving innovations.
The selected projects will accelerate the development and adoption of technologies across critical industrial sectors. These investments will help American manufacturers produce essential commodities more efficiently and cost-effectively while strengthening the domestic supply chains that underpin the nation’s economic security. The selections advance President Trump’s agenda to restore American industrial strength.
“DOE is committed to funding innovation that positions American industry at the forefront of the global marketplace,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson. “These projects will deliver affordable, market-ready solutions that strengthen America’s energy security and support job creation and economic growth nationwide.”
Advances in industrial technologies can deliver lasting benefits by lowering production costs, improving energy productivity, and bringing industrial innovation back to the United States. Selected projects will also help reduce the need for costly wastewater-treatment processes and high-temperature heating across a range of manufacturing processes.
Project highlights include:
Induction Smelting of DRI-Processed Low Grade Ores for Steelmaking: The University of Minnesota Duluth and partners will produce pig iron from low-cost, low-grade ores. Adding a smelting step to remove impurities from the low-grade ores will create new pathways for state-of-the-art direct reduced ironmaking. The new process allows for smelting to occur continuously, instead of in batches, increasing productivity.
Low-Cost Advanced Cement Material from Abundant Raw Materials: Solid Carbon, Inc. and partners will develop and scale next-generation concrete by incorporating belite-rich calcium sulfoaluminate and super sulfated slag cements with materials from underwater waste streams, specifically those derived from tree thinning and wastewater incinerator ash. This process will improve the security of American cement production by improving the industry’s ability to use readily available domestic sources, increasing supply chain reliability and market competitiveness.
Nitrogen Fixation for Production of Nitrogenous and Phosphatic Fertilizers: Nitricity, Inc. will optimize and scale a large-scale plasma reactor to convert air, water, and electricity into nitrate-based fertilizer, an alternative to Haber Bosch production of ammonia. Developing pathways to directly produce fertilizers without first making ammonia can provide a secure, alternative pathway for chemical supply chains. The technology allows for the low-cost, localized production of fertilizers, reducing imports and nitrous oxide pollution.
Photocatalytic Disinfection to Eliminate Unwanted Byproducts in Wastewater Treatment: Louisiana State University and partners will use an innovative catalyst that replaces chlorine additives—while still meeting disinfection standards—to avoid toxic byproducts in the water-treatment process, saving electricity and reducing costs for wastewater-treatment plants and ratepayers.
Development of Biological Textile Recycling Process for Cost-Competitive Polyester Production: Protein Evolution and project partners will convert waste derived from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) textiles into polyester. The project will optimize and scale-up an enzymatic recycling process using enzymes to break down plastics to convert the PET waste into high-quality chemical starting materials—the building blocks of the new polyester. This process will reduce operational costs compared to traditional manufacturing.
View the full list of selections.
This is the second round of selections announced this year by CMEI’s Industrial Technologies Office (ITO). In May, ITO selected 20 projects to reduce operational costs across U.S. industry and support the onshoring of American manufacturing.