WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is advancing more than $3 billion in investments and financing for critical minerals and battery projects as it seeks to strengthen U.S. defense supply chains and reduce dependence on foreign sources, particularly China.
President Donald Trump announced the initiatives on Aug. 7 at a critical minerals roundtable at the State Department 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 Reuters.
Other projects highlighted by the administration include support for Sunrise Energy Metals and Niron Magnetics, as Washington seeks to expand domestic production and processing capacity for materials used in batteries, magnets and other advanced technologies. The initiatives form part of a broader effort to secure supplies considered important to national security and defense manufacturing.
The administration has also sought to address shortages in domestic mineral-processing capabilities. The Energy Department said in May it was providing $45.7 million for 19 projects aimed at closing gaps in U.S. critical-mineral and materials supply chains, including pilot facilities for processing magnesium and rare earth elements.
In June, the department announced another $134 million for two projects designed to recover and refine rare earth elements from unconventional sources such as mine tailings and electronic waste. It said the projects were intended to strengthen domestic supply chains and reduce reliance on foreign sources.
The administration has also targeted gallium, a material used in defense and semiconductor applications. In April, the Energy Department selected five organizations for about $5.4 million in funding to develop technologies intended to restart domestic primary gallium recovery.
The push comes as U.S. defense companies face pressure to secure more domestic supplies of strategically important minerals. Lockheed Martin is in discussions with U.S.-based suppliers for scandium and germanium, two sources familiar with the talks told Reuters. Both materials are used in military equipment, including aircraft components and infrared sensors.
The U.S. effort extends beyond mining to processing, recycling and manufacturing, reflecting the vulnerability created when critical materials are extracted domestically or by allies but processed elsewhere.
The Energy Department said in July that a new federal screening application would connect project developers with potential funding opportunities across 14 federal agencies, including for domestic critical-mineral mining and refining.
The administration's latest investments mark an expansion of that broader effort, with projects now moving forward across extraction, processing, battery manufacturing and related technologies.
