The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E) has announced up to $60 million in funding for two new technology programs to secure and expand America’s critical minerals supply chain, strengthen domestic magnet manufacturing, and reduce reliance on foreign-controlled supply chains.
The first program will accelerate U.S. mineral independence through rapid, high-resolution, cost-effective technologies to assess critical mineral deposits with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The second will drive the creation of a new class of advanced magnetic materials that deliver double the performance while using fewer critical minerals—ensuring that America leads the world in next-generation energy technologies.
“Rare earth elements, critical minerals, and magnets are three essential components of a wide range of modern energy technologies,” said ARPA-E Acting Director Dr. Daniel Cunningham. “Developing faster, more accurate resource evaluation tools, and creating a new more powerful class of magnetic materials will enable America to unlock domestic reserves, strengthen supply chains, and enhance U.S. energy and economic security.”
The Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) program makes up to $40 million available to develop advanced drilling, sensing, and analytical technologies that cut ore deposit evaluation timelines from years to months.
The Magnetic Acceleration Generating New Innovations and Tactical Outcomes (MAGNITO) program makes up to $20 million available for projects to employ artificial intelligence, machine learning, and high-throughput experimentation to develop novel magnetic materials with new chemistries and microstructures.
ROCKS and MAGNITO will expand ARPA-E’s critical minerals portfolio, which already includes REACT (developing cost-effective alternatives to critical minerals), MINER (advancing more effective extraction techniques), and RECOVER (developing technologies to recover minerals from industrial wastewater). RECOVER is expected to announce its project selections early this fall. The programs build on DOE’s ongoing work to secure the critical materials essential to American energy in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order, Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production.
For more info, see the ARPA-E eXCHANGE website to read the full MAGNITO NOFO and full ROCKS NOFO.
