The U.S. Division of Vitality’s (DOE) Ames Nationwide Laboratory and the Essential Supplies Innovation (CMI) Hub introduced the launch of a brand new collaboration with tech big Amazon to advance applied sciences that get well and recycle vital supplies, aimed toward driving supplies circularity and bettering U.S. provide chain resilience.
Whereas the Trump administration’s power insurance policies have shifted sharply in direction of fossil fuels and away from renewables, they’ve additionally supported the event of home provide chains for vital minerals, typically utilized in cleantech sectors and battery manufacturing. President Trump’s Govt Order, “Unleashing American Vitality,” issued on his first day in workplace, for instance, directed the Secretary of Vitality to “be sure that vital mineral initiatives, together with the processing of vital minerals, obtain consideration for Federal help.” In August 2025, the DOE introduced that it could present practically $1 billion in funding to bolster the manufacturing and provide of U.S.-based vital minerals and supplies, with greater than half to be channeled in direction of battery supplies processing, manufacturing and recycling.
Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary of Vitality (EERE), who leads DOE’s Workplace of Essential Supplies and Vitality Innovation, mentioned:
“At scale, the restoration of vital minerals from end-of-life applied sciences and textile waste has the potential to remodel our home vital supplies provide chains. This pioneering work, made attainable by an thrilling new partnership with Amazon, helps the Trump Administration’s efforts to scale back our reliance on international imports and strengthen our nationwide safety.”
Based on the DOE, the brand new collaboration will carry collectively Amazon’s AI and provide chain capabilities with the Ames Nationwide Laboratory’s and the CMI Hub’s supplies science experience, with the organizations working collectively to scale back waste, strengthen home provide chains, and create alternatives for high-value materials restoration.
Key initiatives will embrace collaboration to discover strategies for producing battery-grade graphite from post-consumer textiles, equivalent to discarded clothes, supporting the DOE’s efforts to safe vital supplies from waste. Moreover, CMI will collaborate with Amazon Internet Companies (AWS) groups to analyze the technical and financial feasibility of recovering vital minerals, equivalent to gallium, from end-of-life IT {hardware}.
Kommy Weldemariam, Chief Scientist for Sustainability and AI at Amazon, mentioned:
“Along with Ames Nationwide Laboratory and CMI, we’re advancing a brand new frontier in vital supplies circularity — from changing discarded textiles into battery-grade graphite to recovering vital minerals from IT {hardware}. That is one instance of how Amazon helps construct a extra sustainable and resilient home provide chain.”
CMI Hub Director Tom Lograsso added:
“CMI’s mission is to maneuver breakthrough supplies applied sciences from the laboratory into real-world purposes on timelines that meet business’s wants. Working with Amazon provides us the chance to use our capabilities at scale—combining CMI’s supplies science experience with Amazon’s AI to show improvements into sensible options that strengthen the nation’s vital supplies provide chains.”
