Link to the report at the
U.S. Department of Energy's
Office of Scientific and
Technical Information:
https://www.osti.gov/biblio/2338076/
Did You
Know?
CMI has a report that summarizes its first 10 years of achievements
CMI News 2018-2023
Sample news from each CMI Focus Area during CMI Phase II, 2018-2023
Commercializing the Aluminum-Cerium Alloy: A Portfolio of R&D Projects
CMI Hub makes key step to process rare earth metals in United States
CMI wins awards in 2023 R&D 100 program
Hongyue Jin named LCA rising star
CMI Research Highlights 2018-2023
Sample research highlights from each CMI Focus Area during CMI Phase II, 2018-2023
Accurate model describes rare earths in aqueous solutions
Development of a one-step magnet swarf bioleaching process
Patents issued for new processes high coercivity magnets
Treatment of phosphoric acid sludge for economic recovery of rare earths
Current CMI news and research highlights are in CMI Phase III
Link to see the most up-to-date CMI news and research highlights in CMI Phase III, which started in 2023
Looking for the newest CMI information? Check the CMI home page.
The Critical Materials Innovation Hub operated as the Critical Materials Institute from when it launched in 2013 with its first operational phase of five years (2013-2018), through its second operational phase of five years (2018-2023). CMI focuses on technologies that make better use of materials and eliminate the need for materials that are subject to supply disruptions.
These critical materials are essential for American competitiveness in clean energy. Many materials deemed critical by the U.S. Department of Energy are used in modern clean energy technologies, including wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient lighting. The Department’s 2011 Critical Materials Strategy reported that supply challenges for five rare earth metals may affect clean energy technology deployment in the coming years.
During its second five years, CMI began with a focus on "critical" rare earths and "near-critical" materials dysprosium, terbium,europium,neodymium and yttrium, as well as lithium and tellurium. Beginning in July 2019, CMI focused on rare earth materials, battery materials (lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite), indium and gallium.
The Ames National Laboratory, formerly known as Ames Laboratory, has served as lead institution for the CMI Team, which during CMI Phase II included from three other national laboratories, universities and dozens of members of industry.
The Critical Materials Institute from 2018 to 2023 conducted research through dozens of projects arranged in four Focus Areas:
- Diversifying Supply
- Developing Substitutes
- Driving Reuse & Recycling
- Crosscutting Research
These projects have ended. Most ended at the end of CMI Year 10, which was extended to September 30, 2023. Eight ended through the annual portfolio review process. Three OIP projects ended as of June 30, 2023: news release | process | FAQ
CMI also conducts work in education, outreach and workforce development. During CMI Phase 2: 2018-2023, this included regular webinars and updating the museum exhibit annually. A variety of activities are summarized on this page (link) and by year: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019
CMI published these annual reports during its second five years: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019,
Key Research
CMI Phase II: 2018-2023
- CMI Project 1.1.11: Lithium extraction and conversion from brines
- CMI Project 1.1.12: Critical material recovery from ores and lean sources
- CMI Project 1.1.13: Recovery of critical materials as by-products
- CMI Project 1.1.14: Biologically-mediated recovery of tellurium from mine waste
- CMI Project 1.1.15: Physio-chemical beneficiation of cobalt-bearing Iron Creek ores
- CMI Project 1.1.17: Dissolution by design: selective leaching of rare earth elements using smart lixiviants
- CMI Project 1.1.18: Gallium, indium and germanium extraction from zinc residue produced for steel wastes
- CMI Project 1.2.11: New in-silico molecular design methods for improved separations
- CMI Project 1.2.12: Low-temperature electrochemical synthesis of graphite
- CMI Project 1.2.14: Enhanced separation of critical materials
- CMI Project 1.2.15: Unlocking domestic cobalt production through electrochemical capture of arsenic
- CMI Project 1.2.16: Mechanochemical extraction of lithium at low temperature (MELLT) from chemical-grade domestic α-spodumenes
- CMI Project 1.2.17: Transformative rare earth recovery with Al-accelerated ligand synthesis and separation
- CMI Project 1.3.12: Science-enabling diverse value chain product from aluminum-cerium alloys
- CMI Project 2.1.11: Additive manufacturing of polymer based bonded magnets
- CMI Project 2.1.12: High-performance, critical-element-free permanent magnets
- CMI Project 2.1.13: Magnetic materials and systems modeling
- CMI Project 2.1.14: Reduced rare earth content high performance magnets
- CMI Project 2.1.15: Heterogeneous samarium-cobalt (SmCo) & neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets
- CMI Project 2.1.17: High magnetic field processing of permanent magnet materials
- CMI Project 2.1.19: Predicting magnetic anisotropy
- CMI Project 2.1.20: Application targeted magnetic materials
- CMI Project 2.1.22: SmFeN as a cost-effective high performance magnet
- CMI Project 2.1.23: Enhancing HDDR powders
- CMI Project 2.1.24: Novel permanent magnet based on highly anisotropic TbCu7-type compounds
- CMI Project 2.1.25: Preparation, evaluation and characterization of rare earth alloys directly from oxide intermediates
- CMI Project 2.3.11: Al-REE alloy development for advanced manufacturing (AL-REE ADAM)
- CMI Project 2.3.12: Semi-continuous calciothermal reduction and production of rare earth elements
- CMI Project 2.3.13: Development of a dimensionally stable anode for rare earth metal production via molten salt electrolysis (MSE)
- CMI Project 2.3.14: Deployable rare earth metallization (DREM) methods
- CMI Project 3.1.11: Lithium, cobalt & platinum group metals recovery from lithium-ion batteries & e-waste
- CMI Project 3.1.12: Li-ion battery disassembly, remanufacturing, and Li & Co recovery
- CMI Project 3.1.13: Sustainable biorecovery of critical elements from lithium ion batteries
- CMI Project 3.1.14: Sulfur dioxide leaching and electrowinning for the recovery of cobalt, lithium, and manganese from lithium-ion battery cake
- CMI Project 3.1.15: Separation and recovery of cobalt from e-waste
- CMI Project 3.2.11: Cerium gettering of copper & iron in aluminum alloy recycling
- CMI Project 3.2.13: Biomaterials for critical material dissolution, recovery and separation
- CMI Project 3.2.14: Switchable solvent dewatering from recovery of critical materials
- CMI Project 3.3.11: Rare earth permanent magnet motors from salvaged automobiles
- CMI Project 3.3.12: Low temperature electrochemical processing of rare earth elements
- CMI Project 3.3.13: Recovery of critical materials from dilute electronic waste streams
- CMI Project 3.3.15: Low-temperature chemical-mediated reduction of rare earth elements
- CMI Project 3.3.16: Low temperature REE metal production
- CMI Project 4.1.11: Advanced search for high-performance materials (AS4HPM)
- CMI Project 4.1.12: Machine learning materials design
- CMI Project 4.1.13: Accelerated alloy development and rapid assessment
- CMI Project 4.1.16: Crosscutting thermodynamic properties of critical materials
- CMI Project 4.2.11: Biogeochemical impacts of wastes from critical materials recovery
- CMI Project 4.3.11: Roadmaps for technology development
- CMI Project 4.3.12: Impact of research on global material supply chains
- CMI Project 4.3.13: Optimizing the economic performance of CMI technologies
- CMI Project 4.3.14: Criticality, life cycles, material flows and scenarios
CMI cumulative statistics as of 2023
These CMI statistics reflect the total as of the end of Phase II in 2023.
See current CMI statistics for Phase III on the CMI homepage HERE
Welcome to the Critical Materials Institute (2021 video)
See this video and the newest videos from CMI and its partners on YouTube HERE
CMI Education, Outreach and Workforce Development
See the most recent CMI efforts in professional development, education, outreach and
workforce development on the pages for CMI Phase III, which began in 2023 LINK