(TRACE - Ga) - Technology for Recovery and Advanced Critical-material Extraction – Gallium
Information
Description
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)—in collaboration with its Partnership Intermediary, ENERGYWERX — plans to release a funding opportunity focused on establishing a secure and independent domestic supply chain for gallium, a critical material for the energy, defense, and semiconductor sectors. This initiative seeks innovative and economically viable technologies for gallium recovery from U.S. metal processing feedstocks. This initiative supports the Trump administration’s commitment to enhance U.S. supply chain security by fostering the commercialization of cutting-edge technologies that will broaden the U.S. critical materials portfolio and reduce our dependency on foreign sources.
Under the TRACE-Ga initiative, projects will test and validate prototype technologies with a goal of producing at least 50 kg of pure gallium from at least one 14-day campaign of continuous operation with a real-world metal industry processing stream, such as aluminum or zinc. The objective is to validate a prototype that is capable of producing at least 1 metric ton per annum scale of gallium. Successful projects will restart domestic primary gallium recovery for the first time in almost 40 years.
Objective
Projects to deliver a prototype that is capable of producing gallium at least 1 metric ton per annum scale.
Projects will conduct work in two phases.
Phase 1:
The performer tests and validates the Phase 1 prototype, with industrial partner on an actual (non-simulated) metal industry process stream (e.g. Bayer liquor, zinc residue, other metals production and recycling residues) for recovery of Ga. The Phase1 prototype must produce at least 100 grams of Ga, at any purity level, recovered from the actual metal processing stream. The performer must provide process flow diagrams, cost baselines, and cash flow projections reflective of Phase 1 results and current, on-site parameters of the industrial partner. The performer must also produce a final process flow sheet of the Phase 2 prototype. The Phase 2 prototype must be capable of production of 4N (99.99%) Ga at a minimum of 2 MT per year. The performer will submit a business plan that factors an appropriate alignment and ongoing partnership with the industrial partner. The performer will identify standards, compliance reports, and other reports that are necessary for acquiring additional debt or equity financing for future demonstration or full-scale performance with the industrial partner and will report how Phase 2 operations will advance the technology development and commercialization.
Phase 2:
The performer tests and validates the Phase 2 prototype, with industrial partner on an actual (non-simulated) metal industry process stream for recovery of Ga. To validate production at 1 MT per year scale, the prototype must produce at least 50 kilograms of 4N Ga from at least one 14-day campaign of continuous operation with the actual (non-simulated) metal industry process stream. The purity of Ga needs to be verified by X standard.
The performer will complete a process hazard analysis and complete an assessment of lifetime of materials and recommended preventive maintenance schedule. The performer must provide process flow diagrams, cost baselines, and cash flow projections based on Phase 2 data. These activities should be aligned to at least an Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) International Class 3 Cost Estimate. The performer will update the business plan. The performer will make reasonable progress on performance standards, compliance reports, and other reports necessary for acquiring additional debt or equity financing for future demonstration or full-scale performance with the industrial partner.
Event Updates
How to Participate
To participate, technology developers and industrial host sites must apply jointly; technology developers without a planned host site will not be eligible to apply. However, to facilitate connections between technology developers and potential host sites, DOE is facilitating a teaming partner list where interested parties may provide their contact information.
- Sign up for the Teaming Partner List: Click Here to Sign Up
- View the Teaming Partner List and contact potential partners:
- Click Here to View Potential Partners
- Password is case sensitive: TRACEGA
Participating in the webinars will improve your knowledge in the expectations of the opportunity and application.
- Attend the Informational Webinar/Objective Strategic Session (IW/OSS) on September 30, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET.
- Attend the Informational Office Hours Session on October 14, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET.
ENWX will be employing the CAPTCHA-enabled feature on our meetings, and webinar participants may receive a CAPTCHA challenge to join the Sessions.
For an optimal webinar experience, we recommend downloading the Microsoft Teams software to your computer, smartphone, or tablet.
- Complete the submission form and upload the appropriate project information and supporting documentation:
- Click Here to Submit (Submissions are due no later than October 30, 2025 by 3:00 PM ET)
Notice for all parties interested in ENERGYWERX events and programs: Announcement of ENERGYWERX events that are considered to have a high potential for further efforts that may be accomplished via FAR-based contracting instruments, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for prototype projects 10 USC 4022, prizes for advanced technology achievements 10 USC 4025, and/or prize competitions 15 USC 3719, may be made at the www.energywerx.org website. All announcements made at the www.energywerx.org website are considered to satisfy the reasonable effort to obtain competition in accordance with 10 USC 4025, 15 USC 3719 (e) and 10 USC 4022. All FAR-based actions will follow announcement procedures per FAR 5.201(b) accordingly.