US Energy Department awards $500 million to boost domestic mineral projects

The US Department of Energy is distributing $500 million in grants to seven companies working on domestic projects for lithium, cobalt, and other battery-related minerals. The funding is part of a broader push to strengthen American mining and processing capabilities and reduce reliance on China.

Three companies — Lilac Solutions, Jervois, and Nth Cycle — will each receive $100 million. Lilac Solutions plans to build a direct lithium extraction facility on Utah's Great Salt Lake, with operations expected to begin by 2028 and an annual output of 5,000 metric tons. Jervois, which controls a large cobalt deposit in Idaho, will use its grant to construct the country's only cobalt refinery. Nth Cycle, a battery recycler backed by Trafigura, will build a facility to process black mass, a scrap material rich in recyclable minerals.

The remaining four companies will receive $50 million each. Princeton NuEnergy is working on reprocessing cathode battery parts, Arcanum Ventures produces chemicals for battery electrolytes, and Coreshell Technologies is developing silicon-based battery anodes as an alternative to graphite.

The Energy Department received hundreds of applications for this round of funding. Assistant Secretary Audrey Robertson said the selected projects showed the most promise and offered the highest returns in the most-needed areas of the battery ecosystem.

This announcement follows President Donald Trump's recent call to make the US the "minerals superpower of the world." The administration has been using loans, grants, and other tools to build a more secure domestic supply chain for minerals considered vital to the economy and national security. The ongoing war with Iran has added urgency, highlighting the strain that major conflicts can place on weapons inventories and the industrial base needed to replenish them.

The department had previously announced funding for lithium projects from ioneer, Standard Lithium, and Lithium Americas. Earlier this month, the Trump administration also blocked exports of black mass, though Robertson said the new funding was not tied to that decision. She added that the US needs to build the ecosystem to fully recycle and process batteries and black mass domestically.