The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is taking a big step to strengthen the country’s supply chains for essential minerals. As part of a nearly $1 billion initiative, the DOE has chosen five projects to move forward with negotiations for financial support under a $75 million program aimed at enhancing the recovery of key materials like rare earths, gallium, germanium, and aluminum from coal and its byproducts.
These projects are focused on the coal-based industry and are part of the DOE’s Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion initiative. The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will oversee these projects, which aim to develop technologies to produce market-ready materials from coal resources.
Audrey Robertson, the DOE Assistant Secretary of Energy, stated, “American industrial facilities can tap into valuable critical materials from coal and its byproducts. By investing in these sites, we can boost domestic production and reduce financial risks in bringing these technologies to market.”
Here’s a look at the five selected projects:
-
University of North Dakota will lead a pilot facility to recover critical minerals at the Falkirk coal mine in North Dakota.
-
Valor Metals aims to use its innovative electrochemical liquid-liquid extraction technology to recover critical minerals from coal byproducts and other sources.
-
CONSOL Innovations is working on a pilot facility in Pennsylvania to extract rare earths and other important minerals from coal waste.
-
American Resources plans to implement its technology for large-scale recovery of critical minerals from coal and related feedstocks.
-
Peabody Energy is advancing the “Wyoming Rare Earths Project” to extract these minerals from coal byproducts and operations within the Powder River Basin.
These initiatives are part of a larger effort by the DOE to enhance mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies throughout the critical minerals supply chain, which also includes a $134 million Rare Earth Elements Demonstration Facility Program that focuses on recovering rare earths from mining and industrial waste.
It’s important to note that these selections for funding are still in the negotiation stage and do not represent a final commitment from the DOE.
