Proposed funding will accelerate the growth of the U.S. critical minerals and materials sector. WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced its intent to issue notices of funding opportunities (NOFO) totaling nearly $1 billion to advance and scale mining, processing, and manufacturing technologies across key stages of the critical minerals and materials supply chains. The funding announcements, issued in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order Unleashing American Energy, will help ensure a more secure, predictable, and affordable supply of critical minerals and materials that are foundational to American energy dominance, national security, and industrial competitiveness.  “For too long, the United States has relied on foreign actors to supply and process the critical materials that are essential to modern life and our national security,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the Energy Department will play a leading role in reshoring the processing of critical materials and expanding our domestic supply of these indispensable resources.” Proposed NOFOs announced today include: Critical Minerals and Materials Accelerator  The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office expects to release a NOFO of up to $50 million early this fall through the Critical Minerals and Materials (CMM) Accelerator program. The CMM Accelerator promotes technology maturation that can unlock capital investments and facilitate domestic commercialization. The proposed NOFO addresses several areas of interest, including processes in the rare-earth magnet supply chain; processes to refine and alloy gallium, gallium nitride, germanium, and silicon carbide for use in semiconductors; cost-competitive technologies for direct lithium extraction and separation; and critical-material separation technologies that allow for the co-production of useful products from byproducts and scrap. Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion – Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities The Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management is announcing its intent to issue a NOFO to support approximately

Oil dropped as a larger-than-expected US crude inventory gain and a bearish report from the International Energy Agency added to a gloomy outlook for markets. West Texas Intermediate fell 0.8% to settle below $63 a barrel in a thin summer trading session. Prices tumbled after US crude stockpiles rose about 3 million barrels last week to the highest level in two months, according to government data. Adding to a bearish trading day, the IEA said global oil inventories are poised for a record glut next year, a day after the US government also bolstered its view for a surplus in 2026. Against that backdrop, traders are looking ahead to a meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart in Alaska on Friday geared toward ending the war in Ukraine. Trump warned he would impose “very severe consequences” if Vladimir Putin didn’t agree to a ceasefire agreement later this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he won’t cede the eastern region of Donbas to Russia — a condition demanded by Putin to unlock a ceasefire — and pushed for Kyiv to be included in the talks. The country claimed an attack on a Russian oil-pumping station on Wednesday, though the impact was unclear and it wasn’t possible to independently verify Ukraine’s claims. Crude prices have dropped about 13% this year as OPEC+ accelerated output hikes, though moves have been more muted in recent days amid thin summer trading. Oil traders are closely tracking preparations for the talks, given that they may result in an easing of US sanctions on OPEC+ member Russia. “Markets continue to remain in a wait and see approach as we await the big Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska,” said Keshav Lohiya, founder of consultant Oilytics. OilPrices WTI for September delivery fell 52 cents to settle at

Chevron Phillips Chemical Co., a 50-50 joint venture between Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66, has cut roughly 130 jobs in the latest in a round of reductions sweeping through the Texas oil and chemicals sector. The cuts primarily involve corporate roles including information technology, supply-chain management and logistics rather than chemical plants, according to people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity discussing non-public information. Affected employees were informed in early August, just weeks after CPChem moved into a new 360,000 square-foot headquarters in the Houston suburb of The Woodlands. “These changes reflect opportunities to outsource, centralize work, optimize leader spans of control and reduce organizational layers,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Prusak wrote in internal email to employees seen by Bloomberg News. “This is the first step to ensure our organizational structure aligns with industry realities and is prepared for what is ahead.” Major energy companies are reducing headcount to curb costs as weak commodity prices and lackluster demand growth hurt profits, despite President Donald Trump’s vocal support for the sector. Prices for chemicals used to make plastics and other consumer products are under particular strain after giant new plants came online in China in recent years. CPChem “is working to improve operational efficiency and manage costs as we position the company for long-term competitiveness,” the company said in a separate statement. The relocation of CPChem’s headquarters had been planned since 2023 and is “unrelated” to current economic conditions, it said. Affected employees were notified by managers via video call on Aug. 1 after several months of working with consultants to assess what work could be transferred to vendors or overseas, the people said. The departing workers were offered severance and transition-support services, CPChem noted. “These were difficult decisions, and we were committed to handling them with care and consideration,” the company

The Environmental Protection Agency intends to delay a compliance deadline for owners of coal-fired power plants affected by zero-discharge wastewater standards, according to a Monday court filing by the agency. The case centers on updates to effluent limitation guidelines the EPA issued in April 2024. The rule sets more stringent limits for flue gas desulfurization wastewater, bottom ash transport water and combustion residual leachate. Wastewater discharges from coal-fired power plants into bodies of water include toxic and bioaccumulative pollutants including heavy metals, halogen compounds, nutrients and total dissolved solids, according to the EPA. Power plant owners must meet the new requirements by Dec. 31, 2029, and file notice of intent to retire plants that cannot meet the new standards by the end of this year. In its filing Monday, the EPA asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis to suspend litigation utilities and trade groups brought against the rule until after the agency extends the end-of-year deadline. After the agency extends the deadline, the EPA plans to propose revising the technology basis for limits on discharges of unmanaged combustion residual leachate — essentially, leaks from landfills or other impoundments. The EPA said it may also seek to change its zero-discharge limits and standards for coal-fired power plants. The agency submitted a proposal on Monday to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which vets federal regulations, to extend the Dec. 31 deadline. It estimates the wastewater rule would cut pollution from coal-fired power plants by more than 660 million pounds a year and produce $3.2 billion in annual benefits. It also said the rule could lead to about 5,780 MW in power plant retirements by 2035. However, the EPA may pare back the effluent rule as part of a broad push by the Trump administration to

Dive Brief: The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday selected 11 advanced reactor projects to participate in a nuclear pilot program that aims to expedite deployment without Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing, according to a June request for applications. DOE wants to achieve criticality of at least three test reactors using an expedited authorization process by July 4, 2026. Oklo and its Atomic Alchemy subsidiary were selected to develop three of the projects. DOE “is opening the door to the market so new ideas, new approaches, and new designs can be built more quickly and efficiently,” Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte said in a statement. Dive Insight: DOE unveiled its reactor pilot program in June, building on a May executive order signed by President Donald Trump that reformed reactor testing. The program aims to expedite testing of reactor designs authorized by DOE and located outside of the national laboratories. DOE cited the Atomic Energy Act’s authorization of reactors under the agency’s “sufficient control,” in authorizing the pilot. “Reactors built and operated pursuant to the DOE pilot program will not require Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing,” the June request for applications said. “Nevertheless, DOE-approved reactor designs can and will be fast tracked for future NRC licensing. … [The pilot will] provide a fast track to an NRC license, and hence, commercialization for authorized reactor design.” DOE on Tuesday named 10 companies that could access a “fast-tracked approach to future commercial licensing activities.” They are: Aalo Atomics; Antares Nuclear; Atomic Alchemy; Deep Fission; Last Energy; Oklo; Natura Resources; Radiant Industries; Terrestrial Energy; and Valar Atomics. Each company will be responsible for all costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating, and decommissioning their test reactors, the DOE said.  “Seeking DOE authorization provided under the Atomic Energy Act will help today’s selected companies … unlock private funding and

Mireille Bejjani is co-executive director of Slingshot and facilitator of the Fix the Grid Campaign. Steven Botkin is a volunteer with Fix the Grid and No Coal No Gas. ISO New England recently announced that Gordon van Welie, its longtime CEO, would be stepping down, to be replaced by Dr. Vamsi Chadalavada, the current chief operating officer. Mr. van Welie’s departure after 25 years marks the end of an era, as he has directed the ISO almost from its inception in 1997.  The timing of this leadership change couldn’t be more important. The climate crisis is driving a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and public interest in the electric power grid has increased dramatically with programs such as net metering, demand response and community aggregation. Thus, new leadership at ISO New England must create opportunities to embrace new approaches to governance that reflect these emerging realities.   No longer hidden   Until very recently, public awareness of independent system operators and regional transmission organizations has been virtually nonexistent. For years, grid operators, particularly ISO New England, were able to operate in the shadows with little accountability for their decision-making. However, as evidence of the climate crisis becomes increasingly apparent, the public has become more interested in how the ISO resists and delays the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy. To that end, clean energy and grid advocates from across New England have been calling on ISO New England to facilitate a rapid and just transition to renewable energy, and to see the public as valued stakeholders in planning for the future of the grid.  At the same time, New England state senators and governors, as well as the New England States Committee on Electricity, sent letters and reports to van Welie calling for critical changes to ISO New