Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator (CMMA)

CMMA Topic Area 3 — Direct Lithium Extraction

Supports direct lithium extraction innovation from domestic brines and minerals.

CMMA Topic Area 3, administered by DOE's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO) under the Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI), funds novel direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies targeting domestic brine and mineral lithium sources. Issued under FOA DE-TA3-0003589, Topic Area 3 is the final and longest-open window within the $69 million Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator program. The program targets DLE technologies proven at bench scale that are ready to advance to prototype or pilot demonstration, with a specific focus on expanding domestic lithium production capacity for electric vehicle batteries and grid storage applications. AMMTO administers the track alongside the Industrial Technologies Office (ITO).

Eligibility requires American, industry-led partnerships with a U.S. company serving as prime applicant. A required Letter of Intent had to be submitted by April 24, 2026; teams that missed this deadline are not eligible for this topic area. The application deadline is July 23, 2026 — the latest deadline of all three CMMA topic areas, and the last open window in the 2026 CMMA cycle. Individual award amounts and cost-share requirements are detailed in the FOA PDF (DE-TA3-0003589), which was not captured at ingest; the $69 million pool is shared across all three CMMA tracks. Lab partnerships with the CMI Hub at Ames National Laboratory and the METALLIC facility are strongly encouraged. Program contact is cmmacceleratornofo@ee.doe.gov.

Applicants developing electrochemical, ion-exchange, solvent-extraction, or membrane-based DLE technologies for saline or geothermal brines and hard-rock lithium sources are the target profile. Teams must clearly document bench-scale performance, scalability pathway, and projected domestic production contribution. Because July 23, 2026 is the last open CMMA deadline in FY2026, applicants who submitted LOIs for Topic Area 3 should prioritize finalizing their applications to meet this window.