The US Government’s Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 17 National Laboratory projects to receive US$29.5 million ($42.47 million) in funding to advance technologies aimed at improving domestic mining capabilities.
Funding will be provided through the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation and was approved in accordance with US President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy.
These projects intend to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains, bolster national security, and advance technologies required to establish long-term energy independence in the US.
Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson says the investment is focused on unleashing the “full innovative power” of the US National Laboratories.
“These projects will advance President Trump’s effort to strengthen domestic mining, protect our supply chains, and ensure the United States leads the world in critical mineral technologies,” Robertson says.
The laboratories selected for funding are located in California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington.
This includes the Idaho National Laboratory, the Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories, the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the National Laboratory of the Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The further US$29.5 million to be injected as part of the DOE’s Mine of the Future initiative follows US$73 million in funding provided in early September.
As reported, the DOE has been on a funding spree to support local critical mineral supply chains.
The department selected seven projects for US$500 million in funding in August to expand US critical mineral processing, battery manufacturing, and recycling capacity.
It also announced US$162 million in funding for nine projects focused on the recovery of materials including scandium, copper, antimony, and rare earth elements from industrial feedstocks.
Separately, DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation Hub awarded another US$10 million to seven early-stage research projects focused on technologies for rare earths, gallium, copper, and other critical materials.
Write to Maddison Elliott at Mining.com.au
Main image: Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation
