{"id":11323,"date":"2025-08-25T19:33:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-26T01:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vpzajoti4c.onrocket.site\/news\/doe-launches-60-million-push-to-bolster-u-s-critical-minerals-and-magnet-manufacturing\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T07:21:06","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T13:21:06","slug":"doe-launches-60-million-push-to-bolster-u-s-critical-minerals-and-magnet-manufacturing","status":"publish","type":"news-archive","link":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/doe-launches-60-million-push-to-bolster-u-s-critical-minerals-and-magnet-manufacturing\/","title":{"rendered":"DOE Launches $60 Million Push to Bolster U.S. Critical Minerals and Magnet Manufacturing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Highlights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The U.S. Department of Energy's ARPA-E announces $60 million in funding for two programs (ROCKS and MAGNITO) to secure domestic critical mineral supplies and improve magnet manufacturing.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>ROCKS aims to reduce mineral exploration timelines from a decade to 1-2 years using advanced sensing and analytical technologies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>MAGNITO seeks to develop next-generation permanent magnets with double current performance while reducing dependence on rare earth elements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<p><em>A new set of ARPA-E programs aim to cut exploration timelines and discover next-generation magnetic materials.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/news-and-events\/news-and-insights\/energy-department-announces-60-million-secure-domestic-critical-mineral-supply-and-strengthen-magnet-manufacturing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">press release<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> issued on August 25, <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">the U.S. Department of Energy\u2019s Advanced Research Projects Agency\u2013Energy<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> (ARPA-E) announced up to $60 million in funding for two new programs designed to secure domestic supplies of critical minerals and strengthen magnet manufacturing. The initiative responds to growing concerns over U.S. reliance on foreign-controlled supply chains for <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/?post_type=acf-post-type&amp;p=38\" title=\"News\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"39387\">rare earth<\/a> elements and the high-performance magnets that are essential to modern energy technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The two programs\u2014Reliable Ore Characterization with Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) and Magnetic Acceleration Generating New Innovations and Tactical Outcomes (MAGNITO)\u2014will work in tandem to accelerate mineral exploration and develop stronger, more efficient magnets that use fewer critical materials. <a href=\"https:\/\/arpa-e.energy.gov\/about\/people\/dr-daniel-cunningham\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">ARPA-E Acting Director Daniel Cunningham<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> emphasized that rare earths, critical minerals, and magnets \u201care three essential components of a wide range of modern energy technologies,\u201d and that strengthening domestic capabilities is key to U.S. energy and economic security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image001-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-10319\" style=\"width:252px;height:auto\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Daniel Cunningham, ARPA-E Acting Director<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Speeding up mineral exploration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/cen.acs.org\/energy\/ARPA-E-offers-funding-magnetic\/103\/web\/2025\/08?sc=230901_cenrssfeed_eng_latestnewsrss_cen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"external-link\">reported<span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in a new tab)<\/span><\/a> by <em>Chemical &amp; Engineering News<\/em>, the ROCKS program will allocate up to $40 million for new technologies that make it faster and cheaper to locate and assess rare earth deposits in the United States. Most U.S. deposits are locked in hard rock formations such as granite, which require extensive drilling and years of testing before mining can even begin. According to program director Robert Mellors, the current process can stretch over a decade. Still, ROCKS aims to cut that timeline down to one or two years by supporting advanced sensing, drilling, and analytical tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The funding is not for extraction projects themselves but for technology development that can be applied broadly across the industry. Mellors added that ARPA-E hopes to see partnerships between researchers and mining companies, but also wants to draw in expertise from outside the traditional mining community, including those working on unconventional resources like seafloor nodules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reinventing magnets for the future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The $20 million MAGNITO program will focus on the materials science side of the challenge. ARPA-E is looking for researchers to develop a new class of permanent magnets with performance levels double that of today's best materials, while reducing dependence on <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/china-rare-earth-industry-association-held-its-2025-optical-materials-conference-2\/\" title=\"China Rare Earth Industry Association held its 2025 Optical Materials Conference\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"89553\">rare earth<\/a> elements. Program director G. Jeffrey Snyder told <em>C&amp;EN<\/em> that the real opportunity lies in using computational tools and high-throughput experimentation to explore new chemistries and crystal structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere might be thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of magnetic structures out there, and we can filter through them better today than we could have in the past,\u201d Snyder said. The goal is to discover materials with magnetic saturation moments exceeding 2 to 2.5 Tesla\u2014an achievement that could disrupt a $30 billion global <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/usa-rare-earth-building-an-ex-china-magnet-chain-ambition-high-execution-still-the-test\/\" title=\"USA Rare Earth: Building an Ex-China Magnet Chain-Ambition High, Execution Still the Test\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"97836\">magnet<\/a> industry critical to everything from medical devices and electric vehicles to defense systems and renewable energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scientific and strategic significance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Experts say the timing of these programs is significant. Cesar Ovalles, an energy chemist and incoming chair of the American Chemical Society\u2019s Energy and Fuels Division, told <em>C&amp;EN<\/em> that <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/is-europe-caught-in-a-rare-earth-trap-a-new-study-warns-of-strategic-dependence-on-china\/\" title=\"Is Europe Caught in a Rare Earth Trap? A New Study Warns of Strategic Dependence on China\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"97834\">rare earths<\/a> and magnets have \u201ctransitioned from being mere chemical curiosities to becoming essential components in current technologies.\u201d He argued that new ways to characterize mineral resources and optimize their use are vital as the U.S. works to build more resilient energy systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond the technical challenges, ARPA-E\u2019s funding signals a strategic effort to reduce American reliance on <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/news\/china-is-no-longer-optional-beijing-signals-a-global-re-rating-of-chinese-assets-as-policy-capital-and-industry-converge\/\" title=\"\u201cChina Is No Longer Optional\u201d: Beijing Signals a Global Re-Rating of Chinese Assets as Policy, Capital, and Industry Converge\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"97835\">China<\/a>, which dominates the global rare earths market. The DOE notes that the ROCKS and MAGNITO programs build on earlier initiatives such as REACT, MINER, and RECOVER, which focus on mineral alternatives, improved extraction, and recovery from industrial waste. Together, they form a broader push to strengthen domestic control of supply chains critical to the clean energy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Applications for the new programs begin with short concept papers due in late September, with full proposals invited later this year. Final selections are expected in January 2026. If successful, these efforts could redefine how the U.S. discovers and uses critical minerals\u2014and ensure that the country is not left behind in the global race for next-generation energy technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00a9!-- \/wp:paragraph --&gt;<\/p><span class=\"et_bloom_bottom_trigger\"><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ARPA-E launches $60M programs to accelerate critical minerals exploration and develop advanced magnetic technologies for U.S. energy independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"news-type":[122,123,129],"organization":[],"regions":[315,320],"class_list":["post-11323","news-archive","type-news-archive","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-ree-news","news-type-clean-energy-technology","news-type-renewable-energy","regions-china","regions-united-states"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/11323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news-archive"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11323"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/11323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76318,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-archive\/11323\/revisions\/76318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=11323"},{"taxonomy":"organization","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/organization?post=11323"},{"taxonomy":"regions","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rareearthexchanges.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/regions?post=11323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}