Galveston Bay in Texas.gettyA project to develop fish-like nanorobots to swim and eat lithium ions in seawater was among 19 to win $45.7 million in U.S. government critical mineral technology grants.The U.S. Department of Energy announced May 19 the winners of grants from its Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation. The investments are intended to ween the U.S. from its current heavy reliance on foreign countries for critical minerals.“By ensuring the minerals that are mined in America can be processed in America and manufactured into American technologies, these investments will bolster America’s national security and energy independence,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson, announced recently.The funds were allocated under the DOE’s “Critical Material Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives” competitive grant program. The largest awards went to two pilot projects to foster the domestic critical minerals/materials supply chain:$19.3 million for USA Rare Earth in Stillwater, Okla.—to build and operate a pilot-scale continuous ion exchange rare earth element production plant that could become the first U.S. mine-to-magnet supply chain.$10 million to Big Blue Technologies in Cheyenne, Wyo.—to continuously operate a magnesium metal production process in a modular smelter that may pave the way for commercial production.The remaining 17 projects included those chosen by DOE to develop unique ways to diversify commercially viable domestic critical materials supplies. Lithium featured prominently in five projects each awarded a $1-million grant.Lithium-Eating Seawater RobotsAn entrance to Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.gettyMORE FOR YOUTexas A&M University received U.S. government backing for its plan to use nanorobots modeled to swim like fish to harvest lithium from seawater. There is an increasing demand for lithium since it is a key element in advanced batteries and energy storage. DOE notes that the ability to harvest lithium from seawater could provide a reliable and constant supply chain source.“The self-propelled micro/nanorobots can autonomously swim like fish in the seawater to actively and selectively eat lithium ions, resulting in a groundbreaking concept of lithium recovery,” according to DOE.The tiny autonomous robots will be made from “Janus core/shell micro/nanoparticles” and be able to swim under lights, magnets, or the presence of hydrogen peroxide.“Unlike traditional lithium mining, which can be costly and geographically limited, extracting lithium from seawater is a widely accessible method that could serve as an alternative to mining operations,” DOE noted.The total project has a $1.3 million price tag, with remaining funding to come from non-DOE investments.Other Lithium ProjectsINL researchers have developed a simple process to recover critical materials, like cobalt and nickel, from batteries after they no longer work.Idaho National LaboratoryIdaho National Laboratory—to develop an electrochemical cobalt-nickel separation process for lithium-ion battery leachates by eliminating traditional solvent extraction.Ohio University—to develop coal- and waste coal-based lithium-selective electrodes to directly extract lithium from domestic waste stream.Princeton University—to prototype string crystallization technology to produce lithium concentrates from various types of saline water at a rate of 200 gallons daily.Vanderbilt University—to develop a potential direct lithium extraction technology that is chemical-free, continuous and applicable to various brine sources of lithium.Bolstering the American Critical Mineral Supply ChainLithium ore falls through a separation machine during the extraction process at a lithium mine in Australia.gettyMost critical minerals that are essential to the U.S. economy and national security are vulnerable to supply chain disruption because they are imported and boosting domestic supply has become a top priority for the current administration. The federal government has been looking for domestic sources of critical minerals to obtain from repurposed objects. It also has revamped the list of critical minerals essential to the U.S. and sought new locations to explore on land and in the ocean.“Reshoring minerals production and processing will strengthen our domestic rare earth supply chains from end to end,” Robertson said.Harvesting seawater using this unique method could potentially yield a new source of material for U.S. batteries and also may opens a new commercial application for nanorobots.