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The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation awarded $10 million on Wednesday to seven projects that it said will accelerate the early-stage technology research and development necessary to more efficiently recover and refine critical materials required for energy technologies.
Led by the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub), the projects will focus on rare earth elements, gallium, copper, and other critical materials.
Three of the projects focus on extracting gallium from existing industrial streams—bauxite-alumina processing, zinc refinery residues, and industrial byproduct residues—to expand supply without opening new mines.
Selected projects
The selectees include projects from Case Western Reserve University for process intensification enabled by chloride-based molten salt electrolysis for highly efficient heavy rare earth metal production.
Colorado School of Mines is working on improving copper extraction from primary copper sulfides using hydro and bio-hydro metallurgical processes.
The University of Arizona is trialing a synergistic approach using nanobubbles, surfactants, and reactive oxygen species to enhance copper sulfide leaching.
FAST Metals is creating new domestic sources of gallium and rare earth mixed oxides from industrial byproduct residue streams.
Indium Corporation is focused on advancing improved ion-exchange resin for gallium extraction from bauxite-alumina processing.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is developing redox-adsorbents for the selective electrochemical recovery of gallium from mining byproducts and end-of-life waste.
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is transforming selective separation and recovery of gallium from zinc refinery residues using solid-phase extraction.
“These seven projects will leverage the Critical Materials Innovation Hub’s strong foundation of expertise to address key technical challenges involving heavy rare earth elements, gallium, copper, and other critical materials,” Assistant Secretary of Energy Audrey Robertson said in a news release.
“This work will unlock new production methods that strengthen domestic supply chains and ensure American manufacturers have access to the materials they need to compete and lead.”
