Why This Funding Exists
The United States produces less than 3 percent of globally refined lithium. It has no capacity to produce refined cobalt or nickel from primary ores. China controls over 90 percent of gallium and magnesium refining, roughly 80 percent of natural graphite production, and about 70 percent of rare earth element production. In April 2025, China imposed export controls on seven medium and heavy rare earths. In October, it expanded those controls to five more. The U.S. was 100 percent net import reliant for 16 minerals in 2025, up from previous years. It imported more than half of its consumption for 54 nonfuel mineral commodities, up from 46 in 2024. The 2025 USGS Critical Minerals List, finalized November 6, expanded from 50 to 60 minerals, adding copper, silver, uranium, potash, phosphate, metallurgical coal, boron, silicon, rhenium, and lead. The funding response is bipartisan. The IIJA, IRA, Defense Production Act, and EXIM Bank have all been deployed. The Trump administration added Executive Order 14241 in March 2025 to fast-track permitting and a Section 232 investigation in April 2025 to assess national security risks from critical mineral imports.
DOE Grant Programs: What Has Funded and What Is Coming
The Department of Energy has published several major funding opportunities for critical minerals, most with deadlines that have recently passed. The awards from these are pending or rolling. DE-FOA-0003587, the Rare Earth Elements Demonstration Facility, allocated $134 million for full-scale integrated rare earth extraction and separation from unconventional feedstocks like mine tailings and e-waste. Applications closed January 20, 2026. Two awards of $67 to $134 million each are expected, with a 50 percent cost share requirement and mandatory academic partners. DE-FOA-0003583, Mines and Metals Capacity Expansion, allocated $275 million for pilot-scale recovery of critical minerals from existing industrial and coal byproducts. Individual awards go up to $50 million for coal-based projects and $75 million for all other industries. Applications closed January 15, 2026. DE-FOA-0003390, Mine of the Future Proving Ground Initiative, allocated $80 million for field sites to test next-generation mining technologies. Four awards of up to $20 million each are expected. Applications closed January 30, 2026. DE-FOA-0003105, Critical Materials Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives, is a $150 million rolling program. The most recent selection, announced January 15, 2025, awarded $32.75 million across 12 projects. Additional rounds are expected in 2026. ARPA-E has three active critical minerals programs: ROCKS ($40 million for mineral exploration sensing), MAGNITO ($20 million for new magnetic materials), and TRACE-Ga ($6 million for gallium recovery from domestic feedstocks).
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The Two Largest Upcoming FOAs
Two major funding opportunities have been announced via Notices of Intent but have not yet published full applications. DE-FOA-0003588, the Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator, will provide $50 million for industry-led partnerships to prototype and pilot critical materials processing technologies. Focus areas include rare-earth magnet supply chains, semiconductor refining, direct lithium extraction, and critical-material separation. The NOI was published August 13, 2025. The full FOA is expected in the first half of 2026. The Battery Materials Processing and Manufacturing/Recycling FOA will provide $500 million for expanding processing, recycling, and manufacturing of critical battery materials including lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, aluminum, and rare earths. Cost share is 50 percent minimum. This is the single largest pending DOE critical minerals funding opportunity. The NOI was published August 13, 2025. The full FOA has not been released. When these FOAs are published, response windows can be as short as 30 days. Organizations that intend to apply should be preparing teams, partners, and cost-share commitments now.
Pentagon Investments: $7.5 Billion Through Defense Production Act
The Department of Defense is deploying $7.5 billion to fortify domestic critical mineral production. Specific awards include $400 million in equity plus $150 million in loans to MP Materials for heavy rare earth separation at Mountain Pass, California. Lynas Rare Earths received approximately $258 million for a heavy rare earth separation plant in Seadrift, Texas, though the project is stalling over offtake negotiations. U.S. Antimony received $245 million for antimony production. Global Advanced Metals received $150 million for tantalum and niobium. Smaller but significant awards went to Perpetua Resources ($80 million total for antimony trisulfide in Idaho, including a partnership with Idaho National Laboratory), IperionX ($47.1 million for titanium manufacturing in Virginia, with the final $4.6 million tranche obligated January 16, 2026), Alaska Range Resources ($43.4 million for military-grade antimony), and Trilogy Metals ($35.6 million as a 10 percent equity stake in the Upper Kobuk Minerals Projects in Alaska). Congress provided DoD with $2 billion in FY2025 to expand the National Defense Stockpile, $5 billion to the Industrial Base Fund, and $1 billion for DPA financing through September 2027.
DOE Loans and EXIM Financing
The DOE's Office of Energy Dominance Financing (formerly the Loan Programs Office) has an active critical minerals portfolio. Lithium Americas received a $2.26 billion loan for Thacker Pass in Nevada, the largest lithium mine in North America. The first $435 million was drawn in October 2025, and DOE restructured the deal to take a 5 percent equity stake. Ioneer received a $996 million loan guarantee for the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. EnergySource Minerals has a $1.36 billion conditional commitment for the first commercial-scale direct lithium extraction facility in Imperial County, California. The total EDF portfolio stands at $118 billion across 46 active loans and 25 conditional commitments, though most of that is energy broadly, not minerals specifically. The biggest new entrant is EXIM's Project Vault, announced February 2, 2026: a $10 billion direct loan, the largest in EXIM's 92-year history. It establishes a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve covering all 60 minerals on the 2025 list. Manufacturers pay commitment fees for access to stockpiled materials during supply disruptions. Participating OEMs include Boeing, GE Vernova, Western Digital, and Clarios.
Tax Credits: The Incentives That Do Not Expire
Two IRA tax credits apply to critical minerals. Section 48C, the Advanced Energy Project Credit, provided $10 billion in tax credit allocations for qualifying projects including critical minerals processing, refining, and recycling facilities. The credit rate is up to 30 percent for projects meeting prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. Most of the $10 billion has been allocated across two rounds, with the second round awarding approximately $6 billion across 140-plus projects in January 2025. Section 45X, the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit, offers a 10 percent credit on production costs for eligible critical minerals. Unlike most IRA provisions, this credit has no sunset date. Companies can claim it for the entire lifetime of a project unless Congress votes to phase it out. Eligible minerals include lithium, nickel, graphite, rare earth elements, and 50 key minerals total. Lithium Americas, Ioneer, and Redwood Materials are among companies planning to claim it.
Section 232 and the Tariff Question
On January 14, 2026, President Trump issued a Section 232 proclamation on processed critical minerals and their derivative products. Unlike the steel and aluminum Section 232 actions, this proclamation did not impose immediate tariffs. Instead, it directed negotiations with foreign partners to secure U.S. critical mineral supplies. Negotiators have 180 days to report back, putting the deadline at July 13, 2026. If the President determines that agreements are not progressing or are insufficient, he may implement tariffs or minimum import prices. A Commerce Department investigation initiated in April 2025 found national security risks from import dependence. Separately, the administration has signed 11 bilateral critical minerals MOUs with countries including Argentina, Ecuador, Morocco, the Philippines, and the UAE, with 17 more in negotiation. A Critical Minerals Ministerial on February 4, 2026 brought together 55 countries, the largest such gathering in over four years. The tariff timeline matters for funding applicants. If Section 232 tariffs are imposed, they would raise the cost of imported processed minerals, making domestic production more economically viable and strengthening the business case for every DOE grant and DPA investment listed above.
Who Can Apply
DOE grant programs are broadly open to for-profit entities (mining companies, processors, recyclers, manufacturers), institutions of higher education, nonprofits, state and local governments, Indian Tribes, and public-private partnerships. The REE Demonstration Facility (DE-FOA-0003587) requires an academic partner. Most DOE grants require 20 to 50 percent cost share. DPA Title III awards target defense contractors and companies willing to serve as domestic suppliers of defense-relevant minerals. DOE loans require standard creditworthiness and collateral. Section 48C and 45X tax credits are available to any entity investing in or operating qualifying critical minerals facilities. For the upcoming $500 million Battery Materials FOA and $50 million Accelerator FOA, watch DOE's Critical Minerals and Materials Program page and the CMEI exchange portal for announcements. Search Funding Landscape for open opportunities across all federal sources.