Backing for pilot-scale rare earth element separation development is coming to USA Rare Earth soon after the company was selected for U.S. Department of Energy funding of as much as $19.3 million.
Subject to final negotiation, the support is from the DOE’s Critical Materials Innovation, Efficiency and Alternatives program. It will help scale development of a pilot-scale rare earth element separations project advancing domestic processing capacity for materials essential to U.S. energy, defense and advanced manufacturing supply chains.
“Rare earth separations represent one of the most concentrated choke points in the global critical minerals ecosystem,” USARE said. “Building domestic capability is essential to the long-term resilience of U.S. economic and national security. The project will advance essential technology for processing REEs from domestic resources and specifically support the development of pre-commercial separations capacity in the United States.
The final project scope, budget and timeline will be determined through negotiations with DOE.
“This selection is an important validation of our team’s cutting-edge work to build a resilient rare earth value chain,” added CEO Barbara Hampton.
“We look forward to collaborating with DOE to define and execute a program that delivers maximum value for U.S. supply chain security, as we continue to build the global leader in rare earths.”
The total project value is approximately $50.5 million, including up to $19.3 million in DOE funding and $31.2 million in non-DOE funding. Final amounts will be set in the negotiated award.
Source: www.usare.com