The US is allocating $500 million to seven projects focused on mining and processing critical minerals, manufacturing battery materials, and recycling. The goal is to strengthen US supply chains and reduce the country's dependence on foreign suppliers, mainly China.
The funding is provided by the US Department of Energy through the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI). It is part of the third round of battery materials processing and battery manufacturing and recycling programs.
The initiative covers key links in the chain – from extracting and processing lithium and cobalt to recovering valuable metals from used batteries and manufacturing a new generation of components.
$100 million for lithium from the Great Salt Lake
Among the largest projects is that of Lilac Solutions. The company will receive $100 million to build a facility to extract lithium from saltwater in the Great Salt Lake region of Utah.
The planned capacity is about 5,000 metric tons of lithium per year, with production expected to begin by 2028. The project is part of Washington's efforts to increase domestic production of a raw material that is key to lithium-ion batteries.
Another $100 million is earmarked for Jervois, which plans to build a cobalt processing plant in Idaho. According to Reuters, it is to become the only such refinery in the United States.
From old batteries to new raw materials
A significant part of the funds is also aimed at recycling. Nth Cycle will receive support for a facility that will process the so-called black mass – a mixture of valuable materials obtained after crushing used lithium-ion batteries.
Princeton NuEnergy, Arcanum Ventures and Coreshell Technologies are among the other selected companies, each of which will receive $ 50 million. Their projects cover the reprocessing of battery components, the production of electrolyte chemicals and the development of silicon anodes.
The US Department of Energy has identified three main areas for investment – increasing domestic capacity to process critical minerals from primary raw materials, recovering valuable materials through recycling, and expanding the production of battery materials and components.
Washington wants less dependence on foreign supplies
The new funding is part of a larger US strategy to return key production to the country. Critical minerals are of strategic importance not only for electric vehicles, but also for power grids, electronics, the defense industry and a number of high-tech industries.
The administration of President Donald Trump places a particularly strong emphasis on reducing dependence on China for strategic raw materials. The new $500 million is part of a series of US investments and programs to build its own capacity along the chain – from raw material to finished battery material.
The Department of Energy says that so far grants for 39 projects along the main links of the battery chain are associated with a total investment of about $16 billion, including private capital for the projects.
The latest funding shows that the battle for critical minerals is increasingly becoming not only an economic but also a strategic issue. For the United States, building its own chain for lithium, cobalt and other materials means greater security for the automotive, energy and defense industries in the face of increasing global competition.