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Vision
Build reliable, resilient, affordable, and secure domestic critical mineral and materials supply chains that support the energy, manufacturing, and transportation economies while promoting safe solutions to meet current and future needs.
What Are Critical Minerals and Materials?
Minerals and materials designated as critical by the Energy Act of 2020 are used in a wide range of energy technologies, including batteries, semiconductors, magnets, and electronics. In 2023, the Department of Energy assessed these materials based on their supply risk and importance to energy technologies now and in the future.
Collaborations
Funding Opportunities
Office/Program Opportunity Due Date Office of Science (SC) Office of Science Financial Assistance Program 9/30/2026 Office/Program Opportunity CMEI Critical Materials Innovation Hub CMEI Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing Grants - Round 3 CMEI Mines and Metals Capacity Expansion – Topic 2 CMEI Lithium-Ion Recycling Prize Breakthrough Contest CMEI Mines and Metals Capacity Expansion – Topic 1 ARPA-E ROCKS and MAGNITO FY26 ARPA-E SCALEUP Ready program ARPA-E ROCKS FY25 FECM (FE) TRACE Office of Science (BES) Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) FY25 Office of Science (BES/EPSCoR) Building EPSCoR-State/National Laboratory Partnerships FY25 Office of Science (SC) Early Career Research Program (ECRP) FY25
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Relevant News
Graphic by the U.S. Department of EnergyProgram
Learn more about the CMM program at DOE: Building Secure Supply Chains for America's Energy Future.
Strategy
- Broaden and Expand Supply: Identify and secure substantial resources from a wide variety of feedstocks including primary and secondary sources, co-produced materials from existing operations, and international partners.
- Develop Alternatives: Produce new materials that have less disruption potential and design manufactured parts and systems that require little to no critical materials to function.
- Improve Materials and Manufacturing Efficiency: Design for atom economy, reduce waste through efficient use, and improve overall efficiency of mining through manufacturing and recycling to minimize environmental impacts while maximizing yield.
- Reuse and Recycle: Remanufacture, refurbish, repair, reuse, recycle, and repurpose all materials that are used in a modern economy to extend the lifetime of materials and/or partially offset the need for virgin material extraction.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) supports these strategy pillars by enabling activities, cross-cutting functions to enable and enhance research, development, demonstration, and deployment efforts across four areas:
- Analysis and advanced tools
- Market assessment and development
- International engagement and standards
- Education and workforce development.
Resources
- 2023 Assessment
- 2021 Strategy
- 2019 Strategy and Assessment
- 2011 Strategy and Assessment:
- 2010 Strategy and Assessment:
From the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub:
- Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub 10-Year Retrospective
- Bibliometric Analysis of Critical Materials Innovation Hub Publications 2013–2022
- An Evaluation of the Patent Portfolio Funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Critical Materials Innovation Hub
- Critical Materials Institute (CMI) Hub Year 10 Cumulative Report
- Critical Materials Institute (CMI) Hub Annual Review 2022
About supply chains:
- Education and Workforce Development for Critical Minerals and Materials Supply Chains: Workshop Report
- Domestic Wastes and Byproducts: A Resource for Critical Material Supply Chains
- America's Strategy to Secure the Supply Chain for a Robust Clean Energy Transition
- Building Resilient Supply Chains, Revitalizing American Manufacturing, and Fostering Broad-Based Growth: Review of Large Capacity Batteries
- Battery Critical Materials Supply Chain Challenges and Opportunities: Results of the 2020 Request for Information and Workshop
- Critical Materials Rare Earths Supply Chain: A Situational White Paper
About materials:
- Minerals and Materials for the Global Clean Energy Transition
- Improved Quantification of Lithium Resources in the Salton Sea Region Fact Sheet
- Materials Used in U.S. Wind Energy Technologies: Quantities and Availability for Two Future Scenarios
- Renewable Energy Materials Properties Database: Summary
- Pre-Publication Copy of Notice of Final Determination on 2023 DOE Critical Materials List
- Recovery of Rare Earth Elements and Critical Materials from Coal and Coal Byproducts
- CriticalMinerals.gov
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2025
- Inflation Reduction Act
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
- Methodology and Technical Input for the 2023 Review and Revision of the U.S. Critical Minerals List
- Federal Strategy on Critical Minerals
- Assessment of Critical Minerals: Updated Application of Screening Methodology
- Assessment of Critical Minerals: Screening Methodology and Initial Application