The U.S. government is seeking battery manufacturing and recycling projects to invest $500 million to strengthen the national critical mineral and materials industries.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright recently announced the Department of Energy’s notice of funding opportunity for the Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling grant programs.
The DOE wants the investments to increase U.S. supply chain resilience and lessen dependence by up to 15% in four years on foreign sources for key critical minerals, materials and battery components.
Batteries are vital for drones, energy (such as grid resilience and data centers), transportation and other defense applications.
Critical minerals and materials used in batteries include aluminum, cobalt, copper, fluorspar, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel. Proposed projects that involve lithium, nickel and cobalt have been designated as high priority.
The U.S. government added copper (used in electronics, building construction, transportation, industrial machinery and consumer goods) as one of six new additions to its new list of critical minerals.
