MODIFICATION 0002:
The purposes of this modification are to clarify:(1) the definition of "raw materials" under this FOA on page 11:"For the purposes of all topics in the FOA, "raw materials" refer to materials or minerals extracted from the natural environment and any associated

credit:

waste streams, but do NOT include end-of-life products."; and(2) which materials (raw materials vs.

end-of-life products) are of interest for separation and processing under Topic 1 Area of Interest 2 on page 15:Topic 1, Area of Interest 2, seeks projects to improve industrial beneficiation (froth flotation, magnetic separation, or gravity flotation), separation (solvent extraction) and/or processing (molten salt electrolysis and metallothermic reduction) of REEs.

In addition to the Topic 1, Area of Interest 2, specific requirements below, improvements to REE separation and processing should be able to handle flexible feedstocks (Figure 3).

Of particular interest are technologies that can handle both raw materials and end-of-life products.

Proposed technologies cannot solely target end-of-life products, or propose end-of-life products as the material choice for demonstration of the proposed technology.Battery Critical MaterialsFor Topic 1 Area of Interest 2, proposed improvements to separation and processing of cobalt, lithium, manganese, and synthetic graphite may include the ability to handle flexible feedstocks, i.e.

technologies that can handle both raw materials.MODIFICATION 0001:
The purpose of this modification is to add general authorities that were transferred from the U.

S.

Bureau of Mines to the Department of Energy, on page 8 of the FOA:“In addition, the Department of Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 1996 generally supports DOE research and development activities related to extraction, separation, and processing technologies.

When the United States Bureau of Mines (BoM) was closed in 1996, Congress transferred certain BoM functions to DOE including research of the extraction, processing, use and disposal of mineral substances, and functions pertaining to mineral reclamation industries and the development of methods for the disposal, control, prevention, and reclamation of mineral waste products.

See Pub.

L.

No.

104-134, 110 Stat.

1321-167 (1996).”ORIGINAL ANNOUNCEMENT:Through this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) seeks to address gaps in domestic supply chains for key critical materials for clean energy technologies to:- Enable domestic manufacturing of high energy efficiency and high energy density clean energy technologies;- Diversify the domestic supply of critical materials; and- Validate and demonstrate domestic innovative technologies to support the transition to U.

S.

manufacturing.This will be accomplished through development of alternative next-generation technologies and field validation and demonstration of technologies that improve extraction, separation and processing.

Key critical materials for energy technologies as defined in this FOA include:
rare earth elements:
neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), and samarium (Sm) used in permanent magnets for electric vehicle motors, wind turbine generators and high temperature applications; cobalt (Co) used in batteries used in electric vehicles (EVs) and grid storage and high temperature permanent magnets; and lithium (Li), manganese (Mn) and natural graphite used in batteries (see table below).This FOA seeks to leverage the technology and capabilities developed at the Critical Materials Institute (CMI), an Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames Laboratory and managed by DOE.For questions and answers pertaining to this FOA, please reference the DE-FOA-0002322 AMO 2020 FAQ Log at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov.EERE Exchange is designed to enforce the deadlines specified in this FOA.

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