The US Department of Energy has announced up to $500 million in grants aimed at supercharging domestic production of critical minerals, battery manufacturing, and recycling. The funding, announced through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), targets projects involving lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminum, and rare earth elements.
What the money looks like
Individual awards will typically range from $50 million to $200 million. There’s a floor of $50 million for demonstration-scale projects and $100 million for commercial-scale facilities.
The DOE is requiring a minimum 50% cost-share, meaning companies need to match at least half the federal dollars with their own capital.
The bigger picture
