National Energy Technology Lab to lead CORE-CM initiative aimed at securing domestic supply of valuable materials

Through the newly launched Carbon Ore, Rare Earth and Critical Minerals (CORE-CM) initiative, led by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking to lock down a domestic supply of rare earth elements and other critical minerals.

These materials are seen as critical to the manufacturing of clean energy technologies, the decarbonization of the larger energy sector, and a driving force for future economic and job growth. Specifically, the federal government is hunting for carbon ore resources, viewing them as a means of repositioning old manufacturing communities for the new century and granting them a place to create wind turbines, solar panels, batteries, and more. It will also reduce reliance on foreign supply chains and the potential for disruption. 

To start, DOE will award $19 million for research and development projects in traditionally carbon ore-producing communities. Participants and their locations include: 

• Pennsylvania State University: Appalachian Basin — Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: Appalachian Basin — Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
• Collaborative Composite Solutions Corporation: Appalachian Basin — Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee.
• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology: San Juan River-Raton Basin — Colorado and New Mexico.
• Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois: Illinois Basin — Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, and Tennessee.
• University of North Dakota: Williston Basin — Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota.
• University of Wyoming: Powder River Basin — Montana and Wyoming.
• University of Utah: Uinta River Basin — Colorado and Utah.
• University of Wyoming: Green River–Wind River Basin — Colorado and Wyoming.
• The University of Texas at Austin: Gulf Coast Basin — Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
• University of Alaska Fairbanks: Alaska Basin — Alaska.
• University of Kansas Center for Research Inc.: Cherokee–Forest City Basin — Kansas, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and the Osage Nation.
• West Virginia University Research Corporation: Mid-Appalachian Basin — Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

“These 13 coalition teams of private industry, university, and state, local, and federal government personnel are looking at 13 basins in more than 20 states,” Chuck Miller, NETL’s federal project manager, said. “Many of these regions have been hard hit by declining demand for coal for power production. DOE is searching for economic opportunity for these communities to use their abundant natural resources in a new industry with good-paying jobs.”