By Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw
Aug 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $500 million in grants to seven companies building domestic lithium, cobalt and other mineral and battery projects, the latest in a string of investments aimed at bolstering American mining and processing, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The funding comes weeks after President Donald Trump outlined a goal to make the U.S. the "minerals superpower of the world" and curb reliance on market leader
China. The administration has used loans, grants, government investments and other tools to encourage new mining and processing projects, while seeking to build a more secure domestic supply chain for minerals considered essential to the economy and national security.
The war with Iran has added urgency to the effort, underscoring the strain that a major conflict can put on U.S. weapons inventories and the industrial base needed to replenish them.
The Energy Department received hundreds of applications for this third round of funding from its Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing programs. Those chosen "were most promising and had the highest return for Americans in the most-needed areas of the battery ecosystem," said Audrey Robertson, the department's assistant secretary.
Lilac Solutions will receive $100 million for a direct lithium extraction processing facility on Utah's Great Salt Lake. The company, which is backed by BMW, expects to open the facility by 2028 and produce 5,000 metric tons per year of the metal.
Robertson said the Energy Department's scientists "firmly believe (Lilac) will be a beneficial resource of lithium carbonate to the nation."
The Energy Department had previously announced funding for lithium projects from ioneer, Standard Lithium and Lithium Americas.
Jervois, which controls a large cobalt deposit in Idaho, will also receive $100 million to build the country's only refinery for that metal, used to make batteries, electronics and a range of weapons.
The company was taken private last year as part of a pre-packaged bankruptcy caused by low market prices. Even so, cobalt is in demand from various sectors and the Energy Department funding aims to boost domestic supplies, Robertson said, adding that the facility could in time process deep-sea nodules.
Nth Cycle, a battery recycler backed by Trafigura, is receiving $100 million for a facility to process battery metal scrap known as black mass.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration blocked exports of black mass, which are filled with minerals that can be recycled. Robertson said the funding was not tied to the export block, but added that "the United States needs to and will build the ecosystem to fully recycle and process batteries and black mass here at home."
The Energy Department is also giving $50 million each to Princeton NuEnergy, which reprocesses cathode battery parts; Arcanum Ventures, which produces chemicals for battery electrolytes; and Coreshell Technologies, which is developing battery anodes made with silicon, rather than graphite, the longtime industry standard.
(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Nia Williams)
