Critical Materials Future Act of 2025

This bill establishes a pilot program within the Department of Energy to support domestic processing of critical materials using innovative financial tools, aiming to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities and enhance energy and national security. It defines key terms, sets program objectives, and outlines implementation, application, coordination, study, reporting, and funding provisions.

Sec. 2, Definitions: Defines terms used in the bill, including 'country of risk,' 'critical material,' 'domestic,' 'eligible project' (refining or recycling raw critical materials into purified forms), 'entity of concern,' 'innovative financial tools' (such as contracts for difference and price floors), 'Pilot Program,' 'reliable sources' (including countries with U.S. free trade agreements or major non-NATO ally status), and 'Secretary' (Secretary of Energy).

Sec. 3, Purposes: The bill's purposes are to support domestic critical material processing with innovative financial tools to reduce supply chain vulnerabilities and enhance energy and national security, and to evaluate the effectiveness of those tools in supporting investment and expanding domestic processing, including their impact on market development.

Sec. 4, Domestic Critical Material Processing Pilot Program: The Secretary must establish a pilot program within 180 days to support at least 3 domestic critical material processing projects. Objectives include providing financial stability, attracting private investment, analyzing financial tool impacts, and reducing supply chain vulnerabilities. The Secretary must issue regulations, may use other transaction authority and flexible hiring, and consult stakeholders. The program must support at least 3 different critical materials, with no single material receiving over 50% of funding. The program terminates within 5 years. Applications are reviewed based on security, competitiveness, sustainability, risk mitigation, and priority for domestic or reliable feedstock. The Secretary must select projects within 1 year. Coordination with multiple federal agencies is required, including the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Open Price Exploration program. A study must be published within 2 years after program termination, covering financial tool impacts, supply chain needs, recycling potential, program effectiveness, and DARPA model insights. Annual reports to Congress are required, including activities, expenditures, outcomes, and recommendations. Funding is authorized at $750,000,000, with a Critical Materials Revolving Fund established for reinvestment.