Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator

Funding amount: Up to $69,000,000

Background Information 

On April 7, 2026, the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO), in partnership with the Office of Geothermal, announced a “Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator” Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) of up to $69 million. The NOFO will focus investments on American, industry-led partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative critical materials processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale to address challenges in high-impact areas. The program establishes a pipeline that will support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments. It will also leverage other DOE lab-based investments, such as the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub and the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC).

This NOFO will help ensure a more secure, predictable, and affordable supply of critical minerals and materials that are foundational to American energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness. 

The NOFO includes the following topic areas:

• Topic Area 1: Production and material efficiency for critical materials, including rare earth elements (REEs). Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 1A: Recovery and production from postindustrial manufacturing scrap
  • 1B: Recovery and production from postconsumer scrap (with an emphasis on electronic waste and drivetrains)
  • 1C: Recovery and production from blended feedstocks including mine tailings, postindustrial scrap, and postconsumer scrap
• Topic Area 2: Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide.
• Topic Area 3: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing. Inclusive of the following sub-topics:
  • 3A: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction
  • 3B: Advancing pre- and post- treatment and disposal technologies for direct lithium extraction
  • 3C: Exploration and characterization of critical materials and REEs from volcanic-hosted geothermal systems

This NOFO is one of several totaling nearly $1 billion that will advance and scale mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies across key stages of the critical minerals and materials supply chains. 

Webinar

An informational webinar will be hosted on April 16, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. ET to discuss this funding opportunity as well as the application requirements.

Register here 

Attending the informational webinar is not mandatory and will not positively or negatively impact the overall review of any applicant submissions.

Key Dates

Teaming Partner List

DOE is compiling a Teaming Partner List to facilitate the formation of project teams for this NOFO. The Teaming Partner List allows organizations that may wish to participate in a project to explore potential partnerships with other applicants. The Teaming Partner List will be available on eXCHANGE and will be regularly updated.

Additional Information

Download the funding opportunity on EERE eXCHANGE by topic area:

• Topic Area 1: eXCHANGE: Funding Opportunity DE-TA1-0003589
• Topic Area 2: eXCHANGE: Funding Opportunity DE-TA2-0003589
• Topic Area 3: eXCHANGE: Funding Opportunity DE-TA3-0003589

Questions about the initiative can be submitted to cmmacceleratornofo@ee.doe.gov