National Lab Discovery Series: Critical Mineral Recovery Technologies From Oak Ridge National Lab

Why It Matters

By providing ready‑to‑license, domestically sourced critical‑mineral technologies, the program strengthens U.S. supply chains and accelerates clean‑energy deployment.

Key Takeaways

• Oak Ridge offers licensed critical mineral recovery technologies for industry.
• METALLIC hub unites nine DOE labs to accelerate CMM development.
• Direct lithium extraction methods demonstrated at commercial scale, reducing costs.
• Four centers of excellence cover feedstock to advanced alloy manufacturing.
• Partnerships streamline TRL advancement, cutting time and capital for adopters.

Summary

The Department of Energy’s National Lab Discovery Series webinar showcased Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s portfolio of critical‑mineral recovery technologies and the broader DOE‑backed innovation ecosystem.

Presenters highlighted the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) hub and the METALLIC Minerals‑to‑Materials Supply Chain Research Facility, which coordinate nine national labs to move technologies from TRL 2‑4 toward pilot‑scale readiness. Four Centers of Excellence—feedstock beneficiation, extraction and separation, refining, and alloy development—provide end‑to‑end capabilities, while streamlined partnership agreements accelerate licensing.

Dr. Pon Baranthemum, a corporate fellow with over 480 publications and 65 U.S. patents, detailed licensed successes such as Element 3’s commercial‑scale direct lithium extraction (DLE) using high‑capacity sorbents, ion‑exchange, and solvent‑extraction methods. The webinar also cited near‑zero‑waste feedstock processes and a new internship pipeline to train a domestic workforce.

These initiatives aim to reduce U.S. dependence on imported rare‑earths and lithium, lower production costs, and fast‑track domestic manufacturers into the electric‑vehicle and clean‑energy markets, offering industry a one‑stop shop for technology validation and scale‑up.

Original Description

Join us for a National Lab Discovery Series webinar featuring a portfolio of technologies from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) focused on critical mineral recovery and separation.