The award will support the development of a pilot-scale rare earth element ("REE") separations project advancing domestic processing capacity for materials essential to U.S. energy, defense and advanced manufacturing supply chains.
Rare earth separations represent one of the most concentrated choke points in the global critical minerals ecosystem. Building domestic capability is essential to the long-term resilience of U.S. economic and national security. The project will advance essential technology for processing REEs from domestic resources and specifically support the development of pre-commercial separations capacity in the United States. Final project scope, budget and timeline will be determined through negotiations with DOE.
"We are honored to be selected by the Department of Energy under its critical materials innovation program," said Barbara Humpton, Chief Executive Officer of USA Rare Earth. "This selection is an important validation of our team's cutting edge work to build a resilient rare earth value chain. We look forward to collaborating with DOE to define and execute a program that delivers maximum value for U.S. supply chain security, as we continue to build the global leader in rare earths."
The total project value is approximately $50.5 million, including up to $19.3 million in DOE funding and $31.2 million in non-DOE funding. Final amounts will be set in the negotiated award.