DOE rare earths funding is open to recyclers

The Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation of the Department of Energy (DOE) has announced a notice of funding opportunity for up to $134 million to enhance domestic supply chains for rare earth elements (REEs).

The intention of the funding is to support projects that demonstrate the commercial viability of recovering and refining REEs from feedstocks, including mine tailings, electronic scrap and other waste or residual materials, and the DOE says these efforts will reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources, strengthen national security and promote U.S. energy independence.

“For too long, the U.S. has relied on foreign nations for the minerals and materials that power our economy,” DOE Secretary Chris Wright says. “We have these resources here at home, but years of complacency ceded America’s mining and industrial base to other nations.”

REEs include praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium and are used in components in advanced manufacturing, defense systems and high-performance magnets used in power generation and electric motors.

The funding opportunities are tied to DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation’s Rare Earth Demonstration Facility program, designed to demonstrate full-scale integrated REE extraction and separation facilities in the U.S. The notice follows a DOE notice of intent released in August.

A webinar with additional information will be held at 1 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 9, while nonbinding, nonmandatory letters of intent are requested by Dec. 10 at 5 p.m. Eastern. Full applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. Eastern on Jan. 5, 2026.