The US Department of Energy (DOE) is offering $30 million in grants for research into “environmentally benign” ways to extract minerals and other byproducts from coal.
With land-based production in mind, the funding aims to curb reliance on offshore supplies as well as reduce costs, according to a DOE press release this week.
Eligible projects are those working on the “development of advanced processes for the production of rare earth metals and the co-production of minerals and critical materials from coal-based resources”, as well as projects on the “production of minerals and critical materials excluding rare earths”. materials from coal-based resources,” according to the official funding description.
“Rare earths and other critical minerals are key to American manufacturing of clean energy technologies, such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells, to advance the historic climate agenda of President Biden,” the DOE said.
The minerals contained in coal include carbonates, clays, feldspars, quartz and sulphides.
Commitment to end the financing of coal energy
The support for coal-based mineral production comes despite the government’s pledge to stop funding coal-fired electricity generation.
The United States, under the Group of Seven countries club, has pledged to end “new direct government support for uninterrupted international thermal power generation by the end of 2021, including through aid official development, export financing, investment and financial support and trade promotion”. , as indicated in a statement from the group on June 13, 2021.
But the statement stressed: “This transition must be accompanied by policies and support for a just transition for affected workers and sectors so that no person, group or geographic region is left behind.”
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a press release on December 15, 2021: “Although coal-fired power plants do not have a mandatory retirement age, power plant owners and operators have reported to The EIA plans to retire 28 percent, or 59 gigawatts, of currently operating coal capacity in the United States by 2035.”
Import Reliance
The department noted that the US is dependent on imported rare earth minerals, but has domestic sources that have yet to be tapped.
Imports accounted for more than half of apparent US consumption of 51 non-fuel minerals last year, according to an annual report by the US Geological Survey. “Of the 50 mineral products identified on the ‘2022 Final Critical Mineral List,’ the United States was 100 percent dependent on net imports for 12, and an additional 31 critical mineral products (including 14 lanthanides, which are listed on rare earths) had a net import dependence of more than 50 percent of apparent consumption,” said the report titled “Mineral Product Summaries 2023.”
The DOE noted, “According to the US Geological Survey’s National Mineral Information Center, the United States imports more than 80 percent of its demand for rare earths from non-domestic suppliers.”
“But rare earth elements occur naturally all around us, even in our household coal and coal waste,” he said.
“The funding opportunity announcement released today seeks to leverage this unconventional resource to help build a domestic supply chain critical to the US economy, clean energy and national security.
“The program will fund research for laboratory and bench-scale testing of economically viable and environmentally friendly extraction, separation and refining technologies, starting with unconventional coal-based resources and producing rare earths and critical minerals for the its use in clean energy, national defense, and/or commercial commodity products and equipment.”
Social Risks
Recipients must ensure engagement with communities and address potential social concerns arising from their projects, the DOE said.
“Applicants must explain how projects are expected to provide economic and environmental benefits and mitigate impacts; conduct community and stakeholder engagement; incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion and affordability; and promoting workforce development and quality jobs,” he said. “Projects selected in this opportunity will need to develop and implement strategies to ensure robust benefits for the community and workers, and report on these activities and results.
“This will include obtaining data to support legislative and governmental decision-making, rule-making and the development of safe and efficient practices for the production of rare earth elements and other critical minerals and materials” .
Creation of jobs
The DOE said the development of local manufacturing of coal-based minerals would provide livelihoods to communities historically dependent on fossil fuel production.
“The extraction of these materials from coal, coal waste and associated by-products also creates good-paying jobs in communities that have historically produced fuels and electricity from fossil energy resources, supporting the commitment of the “Biden-Harris administration to revitalize energy communities and ensure a strong access to benefits through the Justice40 Initiative,” he said.
The initiative, which President Joe Biden signed into law on January 27, 2021, aims to direct 40 percent of the profits from certain investments, including those in clean energy and housing, to disadvantaged communities.
Energy Secretary Jennifer M. Granholm said in a statement about the funding: “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is helping to rebuild America’s manufacturing sector by improving our ability to produce the critical minerals needed to develop clean energy technologies.”
The funding is under the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, which is part of the administration’s Investing in America agenda.
“Thanks to these transformative investments, we are reducing our reliance on foreign supply chains while providing high-quality jobs to the communities that have helped drive the nation forward for generations,” Granholm added.
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