Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002618
The BIL - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0002618) is a Department of Energy funding announcement issued through the National Energy Technology Laboratory under the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, working in partnership with the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. It is a discretionary federal funding opportunity that uses a cooperative agreement as the primary funding instrument, which typically means DOE expects to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, in technical direction, milestone reviews, and project management oversight) rather than simply providing a grant with minimal interaction. The overall focus sits at the intersection of energy and environmental priorities, natural resources, and applied science and technology research and development, reflecting the practical, industrial nature of the work being supported.
At a high level, the goal is to advance domestic capability to produce rare earth elements and potentially other critical minerals and materials by supporting the design, construction, and operation of a demonstration-scale facility. The facility is meant to show, at meaningful scale, an end-to-end pathway that can take unconventional feedstock materials and convert them into high-purity products. That includes demonstrating extraction, separation, and refining steps that result in either individual rare earth metals or binary rare earth metals, and potentially other critical mineral outputs depending on the process and feedstocks used. The emphasis on unconventional feedstocks signals interest in nontraditional sources (as opposed to relying only on conventional mined ores), which can include various secondary or waste-derived materials and other alternative domestic resources that may improve supply security.
The funding is tied directly to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Under BIL, DOE references an appropriation totaling $156 million to support this broader initiative, with the FOA structured to make multiple awards that collectively advance the demonstration facility concept. The opportunity lists an expected eight awards, with an award ceiling of $32,000,000 per award, indicating that DOE anticipated funding several sizable projects rather than a single monolithic build. The scale of the ceiling and the demonstration mandate suggest projects are expected to move beyond bench-scale research and toward integrated pilot or demonstration operations that can validate performance, product quality, and operability in conditions closer to industrial reality.
Eligibility under this announcement is limited to institutions of higher education, specifically public and state-controlled universities and private universities. This points to a model where universities may lead projects while teaming with industry, national labs, technology vendors, or other stakeholders as partners or subrecipients to provide the engineering, operations, and commercialization experience needed for a demonstration facility. The intent is to accelerate technology maturation and reduce the technical and economic risk of producing high-purity rare earth metals and related critical materials within the United States, supporting supply chain resilience and domestic manufacturing needs.
Key timeline information in the source data shows the FOA was created on September 19, 2022, with an original closing date of November 21, 2022. The listing also includes CFDA number 81.089, which is the federal assistance catalog identifier associated with the program area. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a BIL-funded, DOE-managed push to stand up and prove a real-world rare earth processing and refining capability from unconventional domestic feedstocks, bridging the gap between laboratory innovation and deployable industrial systems.Apply for DE FOA 0002618
- The Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the energy, environment, natural resources, other (see text field entitled explanation of other category of funding activity for clarification), science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BIL - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.089.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 19, 2022.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 21, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $32,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - BIL Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility (DE FOA 0002618)
1) What is this funding opportunity?
This is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding announcement for the "BIL - Rare Earth Element Demonstration Facility" under Funding Opportunity Number (FON) DE FOA 0002618. It is issued through the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) under DOE's Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, in partnership with the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
2) What is the main goal of the opportunity?
The main goal is to advance domestic U.S. capability to produce rare earth elements (and potentially other critical minerals and materials) by supporting the design, construction, and operation of a demonstration-scale facility.
3) What kind of facility is DOE trying to support?
DOE is looking to support a demonstration-scale facility that can show an end-to-end pathway to convert unconventional feedstock materials into high-purity products. The facility is meant to operate at a meaningful scale beyond lab work, closer to real industrial conditions.
4) What does "end-to-end pathway" mean in this FOA?
Based on the description, "end-to-end" refers to demonstrating the full chain of processing steps needed to go from feedstock to finished, high-purity outputs. That includes extraction, separation, and refining steps.
5) What outputs or products are expected from the demonstration process?
The FOA emphasizes producing high-purity products, including either individual rare earth metals or binary rare earth metals. The description also indicates the process may produce other critical mineral outputs depending on the process design and feedstocks used.
6) What are "unconventional feedstocks" in the context of this opportunity?
"Unconventional feedstocks" refers to nontraditional sources of rare earth elements (as opposed to relying only on conventional mined ores). The description suggests these can include secondary or waste-derived materials and other alternative domestic resources intended to improve supply security.
7) How is this opportunity connected to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)?
This funding opportunity is tied directly to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). DOE references an appropriation totaling $156 million to support the broader initiative that this FOA is part of.
8) How many awards does DOE expect to make?
The opportunity anticipates making approximately eight awards.
9) What is the maximum award amount?
The award ceiling is $32,000,000 per award.
10) Is this a standard grant, or is DOE more involved during the project?
The primary funding instrument is a cooperative agreement. That typically means DOE expects to have substantial involvement during the project period, such as technical direction, milestone reviews, and project management oversight, rather than providing funding with minimal interaction.
11) What type of work does DOE appear to be prioritizing here?
The focus sits at the intersection of energy and environmental priorities, natural resources, and applied science and technology research and development. The description signals an emphasis on practical, industrially oriented demonstration work rather than only early-stage laboratory research.
12) Who is eligible to apply as the lead applicant?
Eligibility is limited to institutions of higher education, specifically public and state-controlled universities and private universities.
13) Can industry partners or other organizations participate?
While eligibility for lead applicants is limited to universities, the description indicates a model where universities may lead projects while teaming with industry, national laboratories, technology vendors, or other stakeholders as partners or subrecipients to support engineering, operations, and commercialization needs.
14) What is the broader purpose or expected impact of funding a demonstration facility?
The intent is to accelerate technology maturation and reduce technical and economic risk for producing high-purity rare earth metals and related critical materials within the United States, supporting supply chain resilience and domestic manufacturing needs.
15) When was this FOA created and when did it close?
The FOA was created on September 19, 2022, and the original closing date listed is November 21, 2022.
16) What is the CFDA number associated with this opportunity?
The listing includes CFDA number 81.089, which is the federal assistance catalog identifier associated with the program area.
17) Which DOE offices are associated with managing or supporting this effort?
The announcement is issued through NETL under the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management, working in partnership with the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains.
18) Is this opportunity aimed at moving technologies beyond bench-scale research?
Yes. The description indicates projects are expected to move beyond bench-scale research toward integrated pilot or demonstration operations that can validate performance, product quality, and operability in conditions closer to industrial reality.
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