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The United States Department of Energy (DOE) plans to invest $275 million in American industrial facilities that have the potential to produce valuable critical material byproducts from existing industrial practices. 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. The program, titled Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities (Metals & Mines Pilot), seeks applications to derisk the technical uncertainty and financial risk for commercial deployment of critical materials byproduct recovery technologies through large pilot-scale production under real-world conditions. Individual grant awards of up to $50 million for coal-based industry and up to $75 million for all other industries require a 20 percent cost share.

What are the program’s goals and objectives?

The Metals & Mines Pilot invests in American industrial facilities that have the potential to produce valuable critical materials from existing industrial processes and legacy waste streams. Industries such as mining and mineral processing, power generation, coal, oil and gas, specialty metals, and basic materials have the potential to recover valuable materials that will address many of America’s most severe mineral vulnerabilities. The goal of this NOFO is to increase domestic critical material production.

American industrial facilities have enormous potential to recover valuable mineral coproducts and byproducts from ongoing operations and legacy waste streams such as mine tailings, impoundments, and coal ash. To de-risk industry investments, the technology for recovering these materials must be piloted under real-world conditions and at a scale relevant to each industry.

This NOFO will support the design, construction, and operation of large (1:50 scale or larger), ‘right-sized’ pilot processing systems at domestic industrial facilities. Successful pilots may produce a wide variety of critical material products, including oxides, salts, metals, alloys, and non-critical material value-added products.

DOE envisions that the large pilots will generate critical information resulting in near-term commercial project viability. Successful pilots will reduce technical uncertainty and financial risk prior to commercial deployment. Should funding and DOE goals align, NOFO award recipients may be considered eligible for possible follow-on scale-up funding opportunities, should DOE pursue such ventures.

Who is eligible to apply?

Domestic entities are eligible to apply as recipients or subrecipients. These include institutions of higher education; for-profit organizations; nonprofit organizations; state and local governmental entities; and Indian Tribes as defined in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U.S.C. § 53042.

Additional eligibility criteria are outlined in Section II of the Notice of Funding Opportunity.

What topic areas are offered?

Two topic areas are defined based on eligible feedstock and the technology readiness level (TRL).

Topic Area 1: Mines & Metals Pilots—Coal-Based Industry

Topic Area 1 requires the use of coal and coal byproducts as feedstocks with minor or limited emphasis on the use of other (non-coal) industrial-based mining materials. This includes domestic coal-based feedstock materials (e.g., lignite, refuse tailings, etc.) and/or industrial coal-based wastes (e.g., prep plant wastes, power generation fly/bottom ash, coal-based acid mine drainage (AMD), etc.). Previously developed bench-scale efforts are expected to advance the TRL of their process/system from 5 to 7. Applications to Topic Area 1 must recover rare earth elements from the feedstock and can recover other critical materials and value-added products.

Topic Area 2: Mines & Metals Pilots—All Industries

This topic area broadly supports piloting the recovery of valuable critical material byproducts and other value-added products from industrial feedstocks, processes, and process wastes including mine waste. Feedstocks for Topic Area 2 can come from all industry sources other than coal-based industry and feedstock materials related to post-consumer and manufacturing scrap recycling. Previously developed bench-scale efforts identified for Subtopic 2a are expected to advance the TRL of their process/system from 4 or 5 to 7. Previously developed pilot-scale efforts identified for Subtopic 2b are expected to advance the TRL of their process/system from 6 or 7 to 7 or 8. Applications to Topic Area 2 can recover any critical material.

What are the funding details?

Up to $275 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is dedicated to this program for fiscal years 2024-2026. This includes up to $75 million in Topic Area 1 (0-3 awards) and up to $200 million in Topic Area 2 (0-10 awards). Topic Area 1 awards will range from $10 million to $50 million, and Topic Area 2 awards will range from $10 million to $75 million. Applicants are required to contribute at least 20 percent of the total project costs. Project periods under both topics will be approximately 48 months, including multiple budget periods of 12-24 months during which go/no-go decisions will be made.

What is the solicitation timeline?

Applications are due by 5 p.m. EST December 15, 2025. The anticipated date for selection notification is January 16, 2026, with conditional awards anticipated for January 23, 2026. The expected period of performance is June 15, 2026 to June 14, 2030.

The full Notice of Funding Opportunity can be found here.

For more information on this grant or how to apply with Morrison’s assistance, please contact the Morrison Grants Team by email at grants@morrisonco.net or call us at 530-893-4764.