DOE Launches $32 Million Program to Advance Domestic Supply Chain for Critical Minerals

Projects Funded by Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Will Build a Strong U.S Supply-Chain from Coal and Coal Byproducts for Next-Generation Clean Energy Technologies and Produce Good Paying Jobs in Fossil Energy Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to fund a $32 million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law program supporting front-end engineering design (FEED) studies to produce rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals and materials (CMMs) from domestic coal-based resources. Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are key to manufacturing clean energy technologies right here in America—such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and hydrogen fuel cells—that will help the nation reach the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. Converting coal production waste into components of clean energy technology can create good-paying jobs in communities that have historically produced fossil energy fuels and power.   

“The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering an important opportunity for American leadership to produce critical minerals and materials—the very components needed to develop clean energy technologies,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By producing rare earth elements and critical minerals here at home, we'll create good-paying jobs while enhancing national security and securing the supply chains we need to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

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