Original Closing Date: 12/15/2025
The goal of this NOFO is to increase domestic critical material production. This NOFO invests in American industrial facilities that have the potential to produce valuable critical materials from existing industrial processes and legacy waste streams. Industries such as mining and mineral processing, power generation, coal, oil and gas, specialty metals, and basic materials have the potential to recover valuable materials that will address many of America’s most severe mineral vulnerabilities.
This NOFO will support the design, construction, and operation of large (1:50 scale or larger), ‘right-sized’ pilot processing systems at domestic industrial facilities. Successful pilots may produce a wide variety of critical material products, including: oxides, salts, metals, alloys, and non-critical material value-added products.
DOE envisions that the large pilots will generate critical information resulting in near-term commercial project viability. Successful pilots will reduce technical uncertainty and financial risk prior to commercial deployment. Should funding and DOE goals align, NOFO award recipients may be considered eligible for possible follow-on scale-up funding opportunities, should DOE pursue such ventures.
Modification 000001:
Extension of application due date from December 15, 2025, to January 15, 2026, and other dates on page 6 of NOFO Part 1. Added verbiage on page 12 of Part 1: Office of Science National labs may provide a cognizant CO for the FFRDC authorization at time of award, not at time of application, in accordance with DOE OS memo dated June 3, 2025 titled "Streamlining Strategic Partnership Projects and Cooperative Research and Development Agreements". Removal of two paragraphs on pages 21 and 22 of NOFO Part 2: 10. Work Proposal for DOE FFRDC and 11. Authorization for Non-DOE or DOE FFRDCs (if applicable)
Full text of the NOFO can be found here: NETL EXCHANGE for DE-FOA-0003583.
