WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced about $3 billion in federal investments and financing for critical-minerals and battery projects, stepping up efforts to expand U.S. production and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains, particularly China, the White House said.
President Donald Trump announced the measures on Friday at a State Department roundtable attended by mining executives, investors, educators and government officials. The package includes a $1.4 billion conditional loan from the Defense Department’s Office of Strategic Capital to Sila Nanotechnologies for lithium-ion battery components, according to the administration.
Other projects include financing for Sunrise Energy Metals, which is developing the Syerston critical-minerals project in Australia, and Niron Magnetics, a U.S. company developing rare-earth-free permanent magnets, Reuters reported. The administration said the investments are intended to strengthen defense supply chains and expand access to minerals needed for advanced weapons and other strategic industries.
The initiative builds on a broader series of measures by the Trump administration to increase domestic mining, processing and manufacturing. In July, Trump signed an executive order directing the government to strengthen defense supply chains by sourcing critical materials domestically or from allied countries and encouraging defense contractors to qualify additional U.S. and allied suppliers.
The Energy Department has separately expanded federal support for critical-minerals projects. In June it announced $134 million for projects aimed at recovering and refining rare-earth elements from mine tailings, electronic waste and other unconventional sources. In July, the department awarded another $75 million to five projects seeking to recover rare earths and other critical materials from coal and coal-based feedstocks.
The administration has also sought to address a shortage of skilled workers in the mining sector. The Energy Department announced a streamlined application system in July connecting eligible critical-minerals projects with funding opportunities across 14 federal agencies.
The push comes as Washington seeks to diversify supplies of minerals used in batteries, electronics, advanced manufacturing and defense equipment. U.S. officials have identified concentrated foreign processing capacity as a strategic vulnerability and have pursued both domestic production and partnerships with allied countries.
The newly announced projects form part of the administration's continuing effort to expand critical-minerals supply chains, with federal agencies expected to proceed with the financing and project agreements announced at the roundtable.
