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Eligible: Businesses, Education, Nonprofits, Tribes

Apply by Sep 25, 2025

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Closed

$2,000,000 - $5,000,000

Reliable Ore Characterization With Keystone Sensing (ROCKS)

From US Department of Energy

The Reliable Ore Characterization With Keystone Sensing (ROCKS) grant aims to accelerate U.S. mineral independence by increasing long-term U.S. production of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical minerals. The program will support transformative innovations in drilling, sensing, and analytical technologies to enable rapid, high-resolution, and cost-effective assessment of ore deposits with reduced uncertainty. These innovations are expected to deliver significant improvements in orebody delineation and characterization. While the program’s emphasis is on subsurface hard rock resources, technologies for rapidly evaluating resources found in alternate (e.g., REE-enriched clays, placer deposits) or untapped (e.g., seafloor) resources are also of interest.

  • Overview

    • Type

      Grant

    • Title

      Reliable Ore Characterization With Keystone Sensing (ROCKS)

    • Source

      US Department of Energy

    • Federal or State

      Federal

    • Total Amount

      $$40,000,000

    • Number of Awards

      10-12

    • Award Range

      $2,000,000 - $5,000,000

    • Cost Share

      No

    • Status

      Active

  • Topics

  • Eligibility

    • Audience

      Businesses, Education, Nonprofits, Tribes

    • Eligibility

      Eligible Entities

      • U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
      • National laboratories
      • Industry
      • Individuals
        • U.S. citizens or permanent residents may apply as a Standalone Applicant, Project Team lead, or Project Team member.
      • For-profit entities (which includes large businesses and small businesses), educational institutions, and nonprofits must be:
        • Organized, chartered, or incorporated under the laws of a U.S. territory or state;
        • Have majority domestic ownership and control; and
        • Have a physical place of business in the United States.

       

      Non-Eligible Activities

      • Funding for exploratory drilling projects without technology development at a specific location;
      • Applications proposing incremental improvements to drilling equipment (e.g., drill bits);
      • Approaches to improve wide-area prospectivity mapping (scale greater than 5 km);
      • Approaches which are primarily laboratory facilities or offsite analysis;
      • Projects which solely consist of historical data analysis;
      • Software or modeling-only projects that do not include generation of new experimental or field-acquired data;
      • Applications focused on mine engineering and design (e.g., shafts, waste management); and
      • Applications targeting minerals which do not have a role in energy supply chains.

    • Location

      National

  • Application Process

    • Application Link

      Apply Now

    • Pre-Application?

      No

    • Disbursement Method

      Credit on federal taxes

  • Important Dates

    • Application Open Date

      Aug 25, 2025

    • Application Close Date

      Sep 25, 2025

    • Application Close Time

      12:00 AM PST

    • Period of Performance Start

      Jun 1, 2026

    • Period of Performance End

      Jun 1, 2029

    • Publish Date

      Aug 25, 2025

  • Resources & Contacts

    • Contact

      ARPA-E or DOE program contacts listed in the official funding announcement.

       

    • Technical Assistance Contact

      Grants Officer: ARPA-E-CO@hq.doe.gov

    • Resources

      Program Information: ROCKS | ARPA-E

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