The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $500 million in grants to seven companies to develop domestic projects for lithium, cobalt, and other mineral and battery materials. According to a document seen by Reuters, the funding is intended to support American mining and processing operations and reduce reliance on China, which currently leads the global market.
This third round of funding from the department's Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing programs follows a stated goal by President Donald Trump to establish the U.S. as a "minerals superpower." The administration has cited the ongoing conflict with Iran as a factor increasing the urgency of securing domestic supply chains for materials used in weapons inventories and the broader industrial base. Audrey Robertson, assistant secretary for the Energy Department, stated that the selected projects were chosen for offering the highest return in critical areas of the battery ecosystem.
Three companies—Lilac Solutions, Jervois, and Nth Cycle—will each receive $100 million. Lilac Solutions plans to use the funds for a lithium extraction facility in Utah, while Jervois intends to build the nation's only cobalt refinery in Idaho. Nth Cycle, a battery recycler, will fund a facility to process "black mass," which is scrap material from batteries. Additionally, Princeton NuEnergy, Arcanum Ventures, and Coreshell Technologies will receive $50 million each for various battery chemical and component projects.
For the average citizen, the concrete changes will not be immediately visible in daily bills or paychecks but are designed to affect the long-term availability and cost of goods containing high-capacity batteries, such as electronics and electric vehicles. The administration is also attempting to shift the labor and processing market; by funding domestic refineries like the proposed Jervois site in Idaho, the government aims to create a local infrastructure for cobalt processing that does not currently exist in the U.S. This shift follows other recent policy actions, such as the August 6 block on exports of battery scrap, which forces these materials to remain within the domestic economy for recycling.
The knock-on effects of these grants could influence future energy and trade policy by establishing a precedent for direct government investment in mineral processing as a national security measure. If successful, these projects could reduce the volatility of mineral prices caused by international conflicts or trade disputes with China. What happens next includes the start of construction for several of these facilities; Lilac Solutions has set a 2028 target for its production opening, while other companies like Jervois and Nth Cycle will begin utilizing the $100 million awards to advance their respective refinery and recycling projects.