Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Accelerator program (DE-FOA-0003589)

Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Accelerator program (DE-FOA-0003589) is sponsored by U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). This funding opportunity supports the development and scale-up of technologies critical to domestic energy supply chains. While not directly focused on wildlife AI, the DOE is advancing AI in science and technology, including environmental modeling and climate forecasting.

Opportunity Listing - Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Notice of Funding Opportunity Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator Notice of Funding Opportunity Agency: Golden Field Office Assistance Listings: 81. 086 -- Conservation Research and Development Last Updated: May 13, 2026 View version history on Grants.

gov Modification 0002 Annoucement (04/21/26): Extended LOI due date to 4/24/2026 Extended TA1 due date to 5/29/2026 Extended TA2 due date to 6/25/2026 Extended TA3 due date to 7/23/2026 Modification 0001 Announcement (04/15/26): Corrected units in Figure 3; Replaced instances of ‘FOA’ with ‘NOFO’ in Section D. Expected Performance Goals, Application Metrics; Corrected LOI character limit in Section IV. C.

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports critical minerals and materials. Critical minerals and materials (CMM) are the building blocks for technologies foundational to U.S. energy dominance,... national security, and industrial competitiveness.

To build a secure domestic supply of CMMs, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) aims to support collaborative industry partnerships to prototype and pilot innovative processing technologies that are currently only proven at the bench scale to address CMM challenges in high impact areas.

The CMM Accelerator program will advance these mid-stage innovations through validation, benchmarking, access to national lab test beds, testing in industry relevant environments, technoeconomic analysis, and life-cycle assessment. The program establishes a pipeline to support technology maturation to ultimately unlock private capital investments.

It also will leverage other DOE lab-based activities, such as the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI Hub) and the Minerals to Materials Supply Chain Research Facility (METALLIC). Technologies resulting from the program are expected to have a path to domestic commercialization within 3-7 years. This NOFO has 3 Topic Areas, and is further divided into sub-topics for Topic Areas 1 and 3.

Apply to each topic following instructions below: • Topic Area 1 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA1-0003589): Production and material efficiency for critical materials including rare earth elements.

Inclusive of the following sub-topics: o 1A: Recovery and production from postindustrial manufacturing scrap o 1B: Recovery and production from postconsumer scrap (with an emphasis on electronic waste and drivetrains) o 1C: Recovery and production from combinations of feedstocks including mine tailings, postindustrial scrap, and postconsumer scrap • Topic Area 2 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA2-0003589): Processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductor applications.

• Topic Area 3 (Applications must be submitted via eXCHANGE, specifically under DE-TA3-0003589): Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction, separation, and processing.

¿Inclusive of the following sub-topics: o 3A: Cost-competitive direct lithium extraction o 3B: Advancing pre- and post- treatment and disposal technologies for direct lithium extraction and from geothermal brines o 3C: Exploration and Characterization of Critical Materials and Rare Earth Elements from Volcanically Hosted Geothermal Systems Additionally, please note that each Topic Area has it’s own Application Deadline, as identified in the Key Facts section of the NOFO Part 1.

There is a Teaming Partner List associated with this NOFO to facilitate formation of new project teams. It can be found in e-XCHANGE under: TPL-0000069. Additional information about Teaming Partner Lists can be found in Section I.

C. of the NOFO. The eXCHANGE system is currently designed to enforce hard deadlines for Letter of Intent and Full Application submissions.

The APPLY and SUBMIT buttons automatically disable at the defined submission deadlines. The intention of this design is to consistently enforce a standard deadline for all applicants. Applicant's concurrence).

DOE will only accept late applications when the Applicant has a) encountered technical difficulties beyond their control; b) has contacted the eXCHANGE helpdesk for assistance; and c) has submitted the application through eXCHANGE within 24 hours of the NOFO's posted deadline. Please see the full NOFO in the DOCUMENTS section below. The Teaming Partner List is transferred from Notice of Intent (NOI) DE-FOA-0003588.

The list will remain open and updated at least weekly until the close of the Full Application period, to reflect new Teaming Partners who have provided their information. Please see section II. A.

in the NOFO Grantor contact information cmmacceleratornofo@ee. doe. gov cmmacceleratornofo@ee.

doe. gov File name Description Last updated DE-FOA-0003589_Critical_Minerals_and_Materials_Accelerator_Notice_of_Funding_Opportunity_Part_1_MOD0001. pdf DE-FOA-0003589_Critical_Minerals_and_Materials_Accelerator_Notice_of Funding_Opportunity_Part_1_MOD0001 Apr 15, 2026 09:33 PM UTC DE-FOA-0003589_CMMA_NOFO_Part_1_MOD0002.

pdf DE-FOA-0003589_CMMA_NOFO_Part_1_MOD0002 Apr 21, 2026 08:00 PM UTC Link to additional information CMEI Funding Opportunity Exchange Funding opportunity number : Cost sharing or matching requirement : Funding instrument type : Opportunity Category Explanation : Category of Funding Activity : Your account requires additional identity verification.