DOE Invests $17 Million in Critical Materials Innovation Across 11 States

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $17 million in funding for projects aimed at advancing critical materials innovation while promoting sustainable, economic, and efficient supply chain solutions. Spanning 11 states, these initiatives focus on strengthening manufacturing processes for essential technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells, high-efficiency motor magnets, high-performance lithium-ion batteries, and power electronics.

This funding is part of DOE’s Critical Materials Collaborative, a program designed to foster a robust critical materials innovation ecosystem. The initiative connects DOE’s critical minerals and materials portfolio with industry partners, supporting innovation throughout the research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) pipeline. The supported projects will de-risk critical materials technologies and accelerate commercial readiness for materials like lithium, nickel, cobalt, rare earth elements, platinum group metals, silicon carbide, copper, and graphite.