Critical minerals policy is moving quickly from strategy to project selection.
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $662 million in funding for domestic mineral recovery, processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling, with $162 million for the Mines and Metals Capacity Expansion program and $500 million through the Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing and Recycling programs.
The $162 million Mines and Metals selections will support nine projects designed to recover critical minerals, materials, and other valuable byproducts from industrial feedstocks at bench- and pilot-scale sites. The bench-scale recipients are Anactisis Inc., Still Bright Inc., Nusano Inc., and SiTration Inc., while the pilot-scale recipients are Thompson Creek Metals Company USA, Felix Gold Alaska Treasure Creek Inc., DISA Technologies Inc., Alcoa USA Corp., and Trigg Minerals.
DOE also selected seven projects to receive the $500 million for critical minerals and battery supply chains. Recipients include two critical mineral projects: (1) Waterleaf P1 HoldCo, LLC, a Lilac Solutions company, which is extracting and refining lithium in Utah, and (2) Formation Holdings US, Inc., doing business as Jervois, for a commercial cobalt refinery. The other five recipients have battery manufacturing and recycling projects: Nth Cycle, Inc., Princeton NuEnergy Inc., Arcanum Ventures, Elevated Materials, and Coreshell Technologies.
These awards build on DOE’s August 2025 announcement of nearly $1 billion in funding opportunities to advance mining, processing, manufacturing, and recycling across critical minerals and materials supply chains. They also reflect the broader policy direction of Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, which calls for the United States to become a leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals, and directs agencies to consider federal support for critical mineral processing projects.
For developers, investors, manufacturers, and host communities, the message is clear: federal support is increasingly focused not only on extraction, but on the full mine-to-materials value chain, including byproduct recovery, refining, recycling, and commercial-scale manufacturing capacity.
We will be watching how these selections translate into bankable projects, domestic processing capacity, and a more resilient minerals base for energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing.
