Overview
Funding Amount
$134 Million
Funding Type
Grant
Area of Focus
Manufacturing Capacity
Eligible Uses
The facility established shall-- (A) provide environmental benefits through use of feedstock derived from acid mine drainage, mine waste, or other deleterious material; (B) separate mixed rare earth oxides into pure oxides of each rare earth element; (C) refine rare earth oxides into rare earth metals; and (D) provide for separation of rare earth oxides and refining into rare earth metals at a single site.
Recipients
Academic Institutions.
Period of Availability
Available until expended.
Funding Source
Section 40205 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) amended Section 7001 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 13344) and directs the establishment of a rare earth demonstration facility that will include a full-scale integrated rare earth element extraction and separation facility and refinery. Additionally, Section 41003 (b) of the IIJA identifies related efforts for rare earth minerals security.
Funding Details and Announcements
MDO announced $134 million across two selected projects aiming to bolster domestic supply chains for REEs. Selected projects will reduce America’s dependence on foreign resources by demonstrating the viability of recovering and refining REEs from various sources. See projects selected for negotiations below:
- Colorado School of Mines, St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
- Phoenix Tailings, Ardmore, Oklahoma
Issued a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) of up to $134 million to enhance domestic supply chains for rare earth elements (REEs). The goal of this initiative is to reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of REEs by demonstrating the commercial viability of methods for domestically refining and recovering REEs from mine tailings, deleterious material, and waste streams. An academic partner is required as a part of the project team and an award requires a cost-share of at least 50% by the recipient.
December 1, 2025 DE-FOA-0003587
December 9, 2025 at 1 pm ET Informational Webinar. December 17, 2025 at 5 pm ET (Extended Deadline) Non-binding, non-mandatory Letters of Intent requested January 20, 2026 by 5 pm ET (Extended Deadline) Full Applications due.
MESC intends to issue a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) of up to $135 million to enhance domestic supply chains for rare earth elements (REEs). The goal of this initiative is to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of REEs by demonstrating the commercial viability of methods for domestically refining and recovering RE Es from mine tailings, deleterious material, and waste streams. An academic partner is required as a part of the project team and an award requires a cost-share of at least 50% by the recipient.
AUG 13, 2025 Notice of Intent
DE-FOA-0003586FEB 14, 2022 Request for Information DE-FOA-0002686 NOV 9, 2022 Funding Opportunity Announcement DE-FOA-0002618 NOV 21, 2022 Full Application Due APR 4, 2023 Selections Announced SUMMER 2024 Next Milestone-Studies Conclude
News
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