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Ten research teams will receive $4.8 million to develop materials recovery, remanufacturing and recycling technologies for U.S. manufacturing. Credit: REMADE Institute
The U.S. Department of Energy’s REMADE Institute has awarded $4.8 million to 10 materials recycling projects designed to move manufacturing technologies closer to commercial use. Several projects focus directly on aluminium, steel, cast iron and critical-material recovery.
“The future of American manufacturing depends not only on mined materials but also on recycled material streams,” said Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office Director Diana Bauer.
Among the metal-focused projects receiving funding are:
- Aerospace aluminium recycling: The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Loukus Technologies will convert aerospace aluminium scrap into high-performance wrought sheet and near-net-shape squeeze-cast components.
- Secondary aluminium validation: Audubon Metals, Ohio State University and the North American Die Casting Association will validate structural and non-structural secondary aluminium alloys at component level. The findings could give manufacturers stronger technical evidence for using recycled metal in demanding applications.
- Cast-iron engine block repair: Rochester Institute of Technology and Synergy Additive Manufacturing will develop high-speed laser cladding to repair damaged cast-iron diesel engine blocks and return them to service.
- Steel tire-cord recovery: Missouri University of Science and Technology and Michelin USA will test tire cord manufactured from scrap steel containing higher levels of copper.
Other funded work covers electronics scrap, rare earth element recovery and circular product-design tools.
The 10 projects will move from successful laboratory demonstrations towards commercial deployment. According to DOE, this stage is often challenging because technologies must demonstrate their performance, cost-effectiveness and repeatability outside controlled research conditions.
REMADE is a public-private partnership with approximately 150 members and forms part of the Manufacturing USA network. Its projects bring companies, universities and technical organisations together to advance materials recovery, remanufacturing and lower-energy production.
For metal users, the practical question is not simply how much scrap can be recovered. Recycled feedstock must meet chemical, mechanical and processing requirements consistently enough for manufacturers to use it in structural parts, aerospace products and repaired machinery.
The latest funding round places that qualification work at the centre of efforts to reduce material waste while strengthening domestic supply chains.
Image: REMADE Institute, RFP 25-02 Project Announcements graphic.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, DOE’s REMADE Institute Awards $4.8 Million to Strengthen Materials Recovery and Recycling in American Manufacturing, released 14 August 2026.
