The Critical Materials Accelerator aims to validate and prototype technologies and processes that address critical materials challenges by developing alternatives, diversifying and expanding supply, increasing manufacturing and material efficiency, and establishing a circular economy. The Accelerator intends to speed up the adoption of innovation while promoting safe, sustainable, economic, and environmentally just solutions to meet current and future critical materials supply chain needs.
This FOA solicits proposals that advance innovation to realize the Department’s critical minerals and materials vision of a reliable, resilient, affordable, diverse, sustainable, and secure domestic supply chains for the clean energy economy. Projects funded under this FOA will de-risk innovation and mature technology development in partnership with industry to reduce demand through alternative materials or technologies, extend the lifetime of critical materials, and advance secure and sustainable critical materials manufacturing technologies.
To bridge the gap between applied R&D and large-scale demonstration initiatives, AMMTO plans to fund prototyping and small-scale pilots in technologies important to the CMM supply chain to accelerate their deployment (Figure 1). Projects funded under this FOA will mature and validate technologies or processes proven at the bench scale to address critical material challenges in high impact areas.
The goal of this FOA is to engage industry in the prototyping and validation of technologies and processes proven at the bench scale to accelerate commercial readiness and adoption. Successful projects will:
- Validate the materials and manufacturing technologies that reduce demand or extend the lifetime of critical materials;
- Enable informed decisions, optimize processes, and build confidence in technology scale up through life-cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA);
- Address the urgency to meet critical material demand with secure and sustainable critical material manufacturing technologies.
The topics listed in this FOA address specific manufacturing challenges facing critical material supply chains in the U.S. See the full FOA for topic descriptions.
- Topic 1 – Use of Magnets with Reduced Critical Materials Content
- Topic 1a – Critical Material Lean/Free Magnets for Clean Energy Technologies
- Topic 1b – Motors and Drivetrains using Critical Material Lean/Free Magnets
- Topic 2 – Improved Unit Operations of Processing and Manufacturing of Critical Materials
- Topic 3 – Critical Material Recovery from Scrap and Post-Consumer Products
- Topic 4 – Reduced Critical Material Demand for Clean Energy Technologies
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF file (File name: [Last name]_DOE-0003155_2023) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
1. Cover Page (1 page, pdf):
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- PI name, departmental affiliations(s) and contact information
- Co-PI's names and departmental affiliation(s)
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institution(s)
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
2. Project Description (4 pages max) Corresponds to the Technology Description of the Concept Paper described in section VI.C of the FOA .
3. Estimated Budget (1 page, including cost share details, if applicable)
4. 3-page CV's of Investigators
Formatting Guidelines:
Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.