The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Ames National Laboratory and the Critical Materials Innovation (CMI) Hub announced the launch of a new collaboration with tech giant Amazon to advance technologies that recover and recycle critical materials, aimed at driving materials circularity and improving U.S. supply chain resilience.
While the Trump administration’s energy policies have shifted sharply towards fossil fuels and away from renewables, they have also supported the development of domestic supply chains for critical minerals, often used in cleantech sectors and battery production. President Trump’s Executive Order, “Unleashing American Energy,” issued on his first day in office, for example, directed the Secretary of Energy to “ensure that critical mineral projects, including the processing of critical minerals, receive consideration for Federal support.” In August 2025, the DOE announced that it would provide nearly $1 billion in funding to bolster the production and supply of U.S.-based critical minerals and materials, with more than half to be channeled towards battery materials processing, manufacturing and recycling.
Audrey Robertson, Assistant Secretary of Energy (EERE), who leads DOE’s Office of Critical Materials and Energy Innovation, said:
“At scale, the recovery of critical minerals from end-of-life technologies and textile waste has the potential to transform our domestic critical materials supply chains. This pioneering work, made possible by an exciting new partnership with Amazon, supports the Trump Administration’s efforts to reduce our reliance on foreign imports and strengthen our national security.”
According to the DOE, the new collaboration will bring together Amazon’s AI and supply chain capabilities with the Ames National Laboratory’s and the CMI Hub’s materials science expertise, with the organizations working together to reduce waste, strengthen domestic supply chains, and create opportunities for high-value material recovery.
Key initiatives will include collaboration to explore methods for producing battery-grade graphite from post-consumer textiles, such as discarded clothing, supporting the DOE’s efforts to secure critical materials from waste. Additionally, CMI will collaborate with Amazon Web Services (AWS) teams to investigate the technical and economic feasibility of recovering critical minerals, such as gallium, from end-of-life IT hardware.
Kommy Weldemariam, Chief Scientist for Sustainability and AI at Amazon, said:
“Together with Ames National Laboratory and CMI, we are advancing a new frontier in critical materials circularity — from converting discarded textiles into battery-grade graphite to recovering critical minerals from IT hardware. This is one example of how Amazon is helping build a more sustainable and resilient domestic supply chain.”
CMI Hub Director Tom Lograsso added:
“CMI’s mission is to move breakthrough materials technologies from the laboratory into real-world applications on timelines that meet industry’s needs. Working with Amazon gives us the opportunity to apply our capabilities at scale—combining CMI’s materials science expertise with Amazon’s AI to turn innovations into practical solutions that strengthen the nation’s critical materials supply chains.”
