The US Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the availability of up to $63 million to enable state and local governments to expand battery recycling and modernize American manufacturing by making technologies such as advanced sensors and modeling more accessible to small- and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs). (DE-FOA-0003376)

Collecting spent batteries and recovering critical minerals such as cobalt, lithium and graphite from battery recycling is a cost-effective and sustainable way to source domestic materials to produce more batteries. Working with states and local governments, this funding will create new recycling programs for recycling and collection points that are easily accessible to consumers, whether at a retail location or a community site such as a library.

This funding opportunity includes $41 million for the second phase of $50 million in total provided by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for state and local government battery recycling programming.

In the first phase, DOE selected battery recycling projects for negotiation that are expected to catalyze over $14.4 million in public/private investment. This second phase will boost states’ and local governments’ ability to support state-wide and local battery recycling programs.

DOE is seeking projects in partnership with state and local governments to create new or enhance existing battery collection, recycling, and reprocessing projects, with an additional focus on awareness, education, and community benefits.

Smart Manufacturing. In addition to working with state and local governments to enhance battery collection, DOE is also partnering with states to modernize the domestic manufacturing sector by enhancing access to advanced technologies.

Smart manufacturing refers to the use of emerging and advanced technologies to increase the efficiency of the traditional manufacturing process. By adopting smart manufacturing technologies, firms can lower costs, increase energy efficiency and performance, reduce material demand, and improve product quality, making American firms more competitive in a global marketplace. However, the majority of SMMs currently do not employ smart manufacturing or high-performance computing technologies, largely due to high upfront costs and lack of access to training resources. Through this program, DOE is working to close that gap.

This funding opportunity includes $22 million towards the second phase of the $50 million total State Manufacturing Leadership Program. In the first phase, DOE awarded 12 projects for states to expand or create programs that will ultimately support over 3,500 SMMs in implementing smart manufacturing technologies and practices, including accessing high-performance computing resources.

In this second phase, DOE aims to expand this state-led support to reach more SMMs. DOE seeks applications that facilitate SMM access to resources such as technical assistance, training, facility assessments, apprenticeships, and direct financial assistance to implement smart manufacturing improvements. Competitive funding awards of up to $2 million per project to state entities will be made over an up-to three-year period. Applicants will be required to provide a cost share of at least 23.1% of the award.