DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Awards $75 Million to Accelerate Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery from Coal and Coal-Based Feedstocks

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation today announced $75 million for five projects that use coal and coal-based feedstocks to produce rare earth elements and other critical materials. The five projects selected for the Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities funding opportunity will support the development of pilot-scale facilities at their respective industrial sites. These facilities will produce market-ready critical materials, including rare earth elements, and other value-added minerals such as germanium, gallium, and aluminum.

“American industrial facilities have the potential to produce valuable critical materials from coal and coal byproducts,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE) Audrey Robertson. “By investing in these facilities, we can increase domestic critical materials production and help mitigate the financial risk of commercial deployment.”

DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage the five selected projects under Topic Area 1: Mines & Metals Pilots—Coal-Based Industry:

• University of North Dakota (Headquarters: Grand Forks, North Dakota)
• Valor Metals, Inc. (Headquarters: New York, New York)
• CONSOL Innovations, LLC (Headquarters: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania)
• American Resources Corporation (Headquarters: Fishers, Indiana)
• Peabody Energy Corporation (Headquarters: St. Louis, Missouri)

Selections under Topic Area 2: Mines & Metals Pilots—All Industries will be announced at a later date.

These selections stem from DOE's August 2025 announcement of nearly $1 billion to advance and scale mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies across key stages of the critical minerals and materials supply chains. Recent announcements include the Rare Earth Elements Demonstration Facility Program. Today’s announcement advances the Trump Administration's efforts to strengthen the U.S. coal sector, including nearly $700 million recently announced for coal infrastructure and operations, and reflects a broader commitment to unlock the value of coal and coal-based feedstocks as domestic sources of critical minerals and materials.

Selection for award negotiations is not a commitment by DOE to issue an award or provide funding. Before funding is issued, DOE and the applicant will undergo a negotiation process, and DOE may cancel negotiations and rescind the selection for any reason during that time. DOE award amounts are subject to change pending negotiations.

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