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ARTICLE · 02 SEPTEMBER 2026

Washington Update: Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure — September 2026

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.

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The Trump administration accelerated domestic critical minerals production in August 2026 through billions in new mining investments, DOE grants for battery manufacturing and mineral processing, and Department of War direct investments targeting supply chain vulnerabilities. Congressional Democrats are now escalating oversight investigations, citing transparency concerns and potential conflicts of interest in the administration's international minerals agreements.

GlobalGovernment, Public Sector
John Lushetsky
John Lushetsky
R. Neal Martin
R. Neal Martin
John McEachern
John McEachern
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August turned into Critical Minerals Month as the Trump administration took several major steps to accelerate domestic critical minerals production and strengthen supply chain resilience, headlined by billions in new mining investments announced at a White House roundtable with global industry leaders. DOE followed with hundreds of millions in grants for battery manufacturing, mineral processing, and recycling capacity, while EXIM finalized new project-level financing for a number of key critical minerals. The Department of War’s (DoW’s) Industrial Base Program (IBP) and Economic Defense Unit (EDU) also made a number of direct investments while the DoW’s Office of Strategic Capital opened applications for a new National Security Fund Finance Program, offering large-scale term loans to credit funds targeting critical minerals supply chain vulnerabilities.

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