The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy, Washington, has announced a funding opportunity for both novel and conventional technologies for recovering rare earth elements and critical materials from domestic coal resources.
DE-FOA-0002003, Process Scale-Up and Optimization/Efficiency Improvements for Rare Earth Elements and Critical Materials Recovery from Coal-Based Resources, will support the Rare Earth Elements program. The National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage these projects. It is anticipated that the FOA will target two areas of interest.
1. Production of REEs and CMs – Transitioning and Scale-Up of Novel Extraction/Separation Concept Development into Bench-Scale Facility REE/CM Production. Specifically, this AOI will focus on further development or scale-up of novel REE and CM extraction and separation concepts, leading to production of REEs and CMs in bench-scale facilities.
2. Production of REEs and CMs – Transitioning and Scale-Up of Conventional Extraction/Separation Processes from Bench-Scale to Pilot-Scale Facility REE/CM Production. Specifically, this AOI will focus on further development or scale-up of bench-scale, conventional REE recovery processes, leading to the production of REEs and CMs in pilot-scale facilities.
The FOA is anticipated to be issued the second quarter of fiscal year 2019. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin considering developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of its issuance. No applications will be accepted through the NOI, and all the information it contains is subject to change.
The Office of Fossil Energy funds research and development projects to reduce the risk and cost of advanced fossil energy technologies and further the sustainable use of the Nation’s fossil resources.
https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/PublicPages/PublicSearch/Public_Opportunities.aspx
