WASHINGTON, D.C. — August 2026 — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $10 million in funding for seven early-stage research and development projects aimed at advancing technologies for the recovery and processing of critical materials, including rare earth elements, gallium, and copper.

The funding is being provided through DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) and is designed to accelerate the development of innovative technologies that could improve the efficiency of critical-material recovery and refining. According to the Department, the selected projects are intended to address technical challenges associated with critical materials that are important to advanced manufacturing and energy technologies.

Critical materials have become increasingly important to a wide range of industries. Rare earth elements are used in high-performance magnets and other advanced technologies, while gallium plays an important role in semiconductor and electronic applications. Copper is widely used in electrical infrastructure, renewable energy systems, energy storage technologies, and electric vehicles.

Seven Projects Target Critical Material Recovery

The seven selected projects cover several different technological approaches.

Case Western Reserve University will investigate chloride-based molten salt electrolysis designed to improve the efficiency of heavy rare earth metal production.

Colorado School of Mines will study hydrometallurgical and bio-hydrometallurgical approaches for improving copper extraction from primary copper sulfides.

University of Arizona will explore the use of nanobubbles, surfactants, and reactive oxygen species to enhance the leaching of copper sulfide.

Meanwhile, several projects will focus specifically on gallium and the recovery of valuable materials from industrial or end-of-life waste streams.

FAST Metals will investigate the development of new domestic sources of gallium and rare earth mixed oxides from industrial byproduct residue streams.

Indium Corporation will develop improved ion-exchange resin technology for gallium extraction from bauxite-alumina processing.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will research redox-adsorbents for the selective electrochemical recovery of gallium from mining byproducts and end-of-life waste.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will investigate selective separation and recovery of gallium from zinc refinery residues using solid-phase extraction.

Recycling and Secondary Resources Gain Greater Attention

A major theme of the DOE's critical-material strategy is the development of alternative sources, including industrial residues, mining byproducts, manufacturing waste, and end-of-life products.

Recovering valuable elements from these secondary resources could complement traditional mining and processing. For example, waste streams generated during industrial production may contain concentrations of critical materials that can potentially be recovered through improved separation, extraction, and refining technologies.

DOE has previously identified reuse and recycling as one of the key areas in its broader critical-materials strategy. Its programs have supported research into technologies capable of recovering rare earth elements and other materials from unconventional feedstocks and waste streams.

The latest $10 million investment therefore represents part of a broader effort to move promising laboratory technologies toward practical applications.

Supporting Domestic Critical-Material Supply Chains

The development of domestic recovery and recycling technologies could provide additional sources of critical materials for U.S. manufacturers. DOE said the selected projects are intended to develop new production methods that can strengthen domestic supply chains and improve access to materials needed by American manufacturers.

Gallium is one particularly important area of research. In April 2026, DOE announced approximately $5.4 million for five projects under its TRACE-Ga initiative to develop technologies for gallium recovery from U.S. metal-processing feedstocks. DOE noted that the United States is currently 100% net import reliant on gallium and has not domestically produced the material since 1987.

DOE has also announced substantially larger investments in rare-earth recovery. In June 2026, the Department announced $134 million for two projects focused on recovering and refining rare earth elements from unconventional feedstocks, including mine tailings, electronic waste, and other waste materials.

From Laboratory Research to Commercial Technology

The seven newly selected projects are focused on early-stage R&D, meaning that significant technical development and validation may still be required before the technologies can be deployed commercially.

Nevertheless, research into more efficient extraction, separation, electrochemical recovery, and recycling could help create new pathways for obtaining critical materials from both primary and secondary resources.

The projects also illustrate the growing role of advanced chemical processing, electrochemistry, materials science, and recycling technologies in the critical-minerals sector.

As demand for technologies such as electric vehicles, renewable power systems, advanced electronics, and high-performance computing continues to evolve, access to reliable supplies of critical materials remains an important consideration for manufacturers and technology developers.

The DOE's latest $10 million investment demonstrates continued federal support for research aimed at improving the recovery and processing of rare earth elements, gallium, copper, and other critical materials. If successful, these technologies could contribute to more diversified material supply chains and create additional opportunities to recover valuable resources from industrial waste and end-of-life materials.

Through the Critical Materials Innovation Hub, DOE is continuing to connect universities, national laboratories, and industry researchers in an effort to accelerate the development of technologies that can eventually move from the laboratory toward commercial-scale critical-material production and recycling.

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