DOE’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation Announces Winners of Lithium-Ion Recycling Prize Breakthrough Contest

WASHINGTON-The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation (CMEI) today announced the eight winning teams of the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize: Breakthrough Contest, which promotes innovation in lithium-ion battery recycling. Each winning team will now advance their proposals to Phase IV of the competition.

"This contest showcases the ingenuity required to maximize the value and useful life of critical materials," said Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE) Audrey Robertson. "DOE is proud to support these talented contestants as they turn their groundbreaking ideas into scalable solutions that will fortify our country's critical mineral supply chains."

The Breakthrough Contest challenged entrepreneurs, engineers, and technologists to accelerate the development of the critical infrastructure needed to effectively collect, sort, transport, and process spent or discarded lithium-ion batteries across various applications. Each of the eight winning teams demonstrated that, when scaled, their solutions could extend the lifespan of existing critical materials.

Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize Breakthrough Contest Winners

Launched in 2019, the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize was designed to increase the recovery rates of critical materials from lithium-based batteries in the United States, ensuring those materials remain within the domestic supply chain.

In Phase IV of the competition, participating teams will receive $150,000 in noncash vouchers to support the validation, evaluation, and techno-economic and life cycle analysis of their proposals. Phase IV will culminate with a $1 million grand prize awarded to the overall winner and up to $3 million distributed among up to four runner-up teams.

Visit the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize page for more information on the eight winners of the Breakthrough Contest.

The Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize is funded by funded by CMEI's Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office and Transportation Technologies Office and administered by the National Lab of the Rockies. Follow the Lithium-Ion Recycling Prize on the official competition platform to learn more about ongoing competitor activities. Find out more about prizes and competitions from DOE's Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation.