Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Notice of Funding Opportunity
The Department of Energy is funding projects to accelerate domestic processing and commercialization of critical minerals and materials through industry partnerships, focusing on efficient recovery, refining, and lithium extraction technologies.
Funder: Golden Field Office
Due Dates: April 24, 2026: Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline (all Topic Areas) | May 29, 2026: Full application deadline — Topic Area 1 | June 25, 2026: Full application deadline — Topic Area 2 | July 23, 2026: Full application deadline — Topic Area 3
Funding Amounts: Up to $69 million total; individual awards up to $3M (varies by topic); 20% minimum cost share required for Phase 1; possible Phase 2 awards up to $8M with 50% cost share.
Summary: Supports prototyping and pilot-scale demonstration of innovative critical minerals and materials (CMM) processing technologies to strengthen U.S. supply chains.
Key Information: Applicants must submit an LOI by April 24, 2026, and apply under the correct topic area with only one application per topic/subtopic as lead.
Description
This Department of Energy (DOE) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) accelerates the development of innovative technologies for critical minerals and materials (CMM) essential to U.S. energy, security, and industrial competitiveness. The program targets bench-scale innovations ready for prototyping and small-scale piloting, aiming to mature technologies to Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and enable their path toward commercialization within 3–7 years. The initiative supports industry partnerships, validation, benchmarking, and access to national lab test beds, with a strong focus on derisking and scaling solutions for domestic CMM supply chains.
The NOFO is organized into three main topic areas:
- Topic Area 1: Production and material efficiency for critical materials, including rare earth elements, from postindustrial and postconsumer scrap, and combined feedstocks.
- Topic Area 2: Refining and alloying processes for gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for semiconductor applications.
- Topic Area 3: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing, including pre/post-treatment, and exploration of critical materials from geothermal systems.
Projects selected in Phase 1 may be eligible for a subsequent Phase 2 (pilot-scale) down-select, provided they demonstrate technical progress, partnerships, and an increased cost share.
