Background Information
On August 13, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) released a Notice of Intent (NOI) to notify interested parties of its intent to release a “Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting By-Product Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities” notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). The planned NOFO will focus investments on American industrial facilities that have the potential to produce valuable mineral byproducts from existing industrial processes.
President Donald J. Trump, recognizing the need to secure America’s critical material supply chain, included “critical minerals” in the definition of Executive Order (EO) 14156, Declaring a National Energy Emergency, which highlighted the role critical materials play in all parts of the U.S. energy system, including hydrocarbon energy production, refining, and other industrial uses. President Trump also released EO 14241, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which highlights the need to immediately increase domestic mineral production.
Therefore, pursuant to sections 7001(a) and 7002(g) of the Energy Act of 2020, section 41003(b) - (c) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the aforementioned EOs, this NOI announces the intent of FECM to issue a funding opportunity that leverages American industrial leadership to use the industries we have to recover the materials we need.
The planned NOFO will focus investments on American industrial facilities that have the potential to produce valuable mineral byproducts from existing industrial processes. Industries such as mining and mineral processing, power generation, coal, oil and gas, specialty metals, and basic materials have the potential to address many of America’s most severe mineral vulnerabilities. For example, gallium, germanium, indium compounds, antimony, and bismuth are all small market materials with nearly 100% dependence on foreign byproduct recovery. Moreover, as of August 2025, China has implemented export restrictions on all these materials, which has impacted global supply chains and triggered price volatility.
To derisk the technical uncertainty and financial risk for commercial deployment, many technologies must be piloted at an industrial scale in an industrial facility where material feedstocks can be processed. Areas of interest include mines and metal pilots in the coal-based industry and other industries.
Who Should Respond
This “Notice of Intent” No. DE-FOA-0003582 is for informational purposes only. The Department is not seeking comments on the information in this Notice. All information contained in this Notice is subject to change.
Additional Information
DOE will host a Domestic Critical Minerals and Materials Supply Chains Workshop on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. ET. The workshop will cover the Department’s critical minerals and materials programs and highlight exemplary projects that are advancing key technologies and processes. Stakeholders from industry, the U.S. National Laboratories, and academia are welcome to attend. To learn more, visit the workshop landing page.