Charleston, WV - Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announced that the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is making available $150 million to advance processes to produce and refine critical minerals and materials in the United States through research, development, and demonstration projects. This funding is made possible by Chairman Manchin’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and builds on recent announcements from DOE,including an $8 million award to West Virginia University through Chairman Manchin’s program to extract critical minerals from acid mine drainage.
“The United States cannot rely on foreign nations to provide the materials we need to develop the advanced energy technologies of the future. Of our nation’s 50 designated critical minerals, we are completely reliant on foreign sources for 12 and more than 50% dependent on foreign sources for more than 30. This is simply unreasonable and cannot be allowed to continue. Today’s announcement is welcome news that will help reduce that reliance and onshore and strengthen our domestic supply chains for the materials necessary to ensure our energy security," said Chairman Manchin.