WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) today announced its intent to release a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to support the creation of coalition teams comprising private industry; university; federal, state, and local government and tribal  personnel who will develop and implement strategies that enable each specific U.S. region to realize its full economic potential for producing critical minerals and materials and high-value, nonfuel, carbon-based products.

If released, this FOA would continue work that started in 2020 as part of the first phase of the Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) initiative in which projects were initially awarded for the assessment and development of critical mineral supply chains from unconventional and secondary feedstocks.

This new FOA would expand the focus from the basin scale to a larger regional scale. Projects will consider environmental justice, the ongoing energy transition and impacts on communities. Awardees would not have to be currently awarded nor have had awards under the previous FOA, and collaboration is strongly encouraged.

Geographical areas of interest include regions across the nation: 1) Eastern Coastal (including Puerto Rico), 2) Appalachian Mountain, 3) Upper Midwest and Illinois Basin, 4) Great Plains and Interior Highlands, 5) Gulf Coast, Texas and Permian Basin, 6) Rocky Mountain, 7) Pacific Coast and Basin and Range (including Hawaii), and 8) Alaska and Pacific Northwest.

This notice of intent (NOI) is issued to give applicants ample time to prepare their proposals and form partnerships (if necessary) in anticipation of the upcoming issuance of the funding opportunity announcement. More information, including eligibility criteria for this NOI, can be found here .

FECM conducts research, development, demonstration, and deployment that focuses on technologies to reduce carbon emissions and other environmental impacts from fossil fuel production and use and from key industrial processes, particularly the hardest-to-decarbonize applications in the electricity and industrial sectors. Priority areas of technology work include carbon capture, carbon conversion, carbon dioxide removal, carbon dioxide transport and storage, hydrogen production with carbon management, methane emissions reduction, and critical minerals production. To learn more, visit the FECM website, sign up for FECM news announcements, and visit the National Energy Technology Laboratory website.