Two recent federal funding announcements are bringing national attention to the potential role of Missouri and the broader Midwest in the critical minerals supply chain.
In July 2026, the U.S. National Science Foundation selected the University of Missouri-Kansas City-led Critical Materials Crossroads Engine to receive an initial $15 million over two years. The initiative could receive up to $160 million over the next decade based on its progress. Days later, the U.S. Economic Development Administration awarded approximately $38 million to the Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub led by Missouri University of Science and Technology.
These two investments aim to strengthen the connections between mineral processing, advanced manufacturing, workforce development and commercialization. Building those capabilities in the Midwest could help close a gap in the domestic supply chain concentrated in the middle of the U.S., supporting the nation's economic growth and national security.
Closing the Processing Gap
Critical minerals such as cobalt, nickel, copper and rare earth elements support products ranging from batteries and semiconductors to medical devices and defense technologies. While the U.S. has domestic mineral resources and mining capacity, it lacks sufficient capacity to process many mined concentrates into the refined materials and chemical products manufacturers can use. As a result, mineral concentrates are frequently sent to other countries for processing. Dependence on overseas processing leaves domestic and allied industries exposed to export restrictions, trade disputes and geopolitical disruptions.
The initiatives the U.S. and also aim to partner with companies sourcing minerals from allied nations, allowing those materials to be processed in the Midwest before reaching U.S. and allied manufacturers. This approach could broaden access to feedstock while reducing reliance on refining markets concentrated in geopolitical competitors.
The International Energy Agency’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 found that efforts to diversify global refining and downstream manufacturing capacity continue to lag behind mining development. Excluding rare earths, the leading refining country accounted for an average share of 70% across the minerals assessed in 2025. China and Indonesia also accounted for more than three-quarters of the growth in refined supply of critical minerals during the previous two years. Expanding domestic processing can help connect U.S. and allied critical mineral producers (mining companies) with the manufacturers that depend on them.
Why Missouri Is Positioned to Respond
Missouri and surrounding states have several of the resources needed to help fill this processing gap. The state offers a workforce familiar with mining and metallurgy, accredited university mining programs as well as established utilities and transportation networks. Its central location and access to railroads, highways and major rivers could support the movement of feedstock and finished materials.
Missouri and neighboring states also have an established mining industry, known deposits of cobalt, nickel and rare earth elements and the potential to recover critical minerals as byproducts of existing operations.
Missouri S&T brings more than 150 years of mining and metallurgical research and education to the effort. Regional companies are also developing hydrometallurgical facilities, which use water-based chemical processes to separate and recover metals from ores, concentrates, waste materials and recycled products.
Missouri has also introduced a state incentive aimed at attracting critical materials producers. Beginning in 2027, qualifying companies may receive investment tax credits equal to 20% of eligible project costs for projects totaling at least $5 million but less than $15 million, or 25% for projects of $15 million or more. The credits apply to qualifying facility construction, expansion or conversion and equipment purchases, engineering studies subject to program requirements and a statewide annual authorization cap of $40 million.
These assets give Missouri and the region a foundation that extends beyond mineral extraction. The state has the potential to connect mining, processing, research and advanced manufacturing within a broader domestic supply chain.
Paving the Way From Research to Production and Commercialization
The two federally supported initiatives address different but complementary parts of that opportunity.
The Critical Materials Crossroads Engine is focused on building a critical materials ecosystem across the Missouri-Kansas region. It brings together universities, government agencies, manufacturers, workforce organizations and engineering firms to help companies progress from pilot to commercial scale through technology development, capital access, feedstock and customer partnerships, facility siting and construction.
The engine also plans to develop dedicated industrial space in the Kansas City region where companies can co-locate pilot-scale, demonstration and full-scale production operations. Access to shared infrastructure, workforce programs and supply chain partners could help companies advance technologies within the same regional ecosystem.
More than 260 organizations and regional leaders have pledged support for the initiative. Over the next decade, UMKC projects are expected to support approximately 10,000 jobs and generate $40 billion in gross economic output.
The Critical Minerals and Materials for Advanced Energy Tech Hub, centered in south-central Missouri, will focus more directly on testing and advancing minerals processing technologies. Its planned test bed laboratory facility at Missouri S&T will let companies evaluate materials from mines, historic waste, slag and recycled batteries.
Many emerging hydrometallurgical processes have performed successfully in laboratories but have not been demonstrated at the scale required for commercial production. Pilot-scale testing can help companies understand how those technologies perform under continuous operating conditions before committing to a full facility.
Turning Momentum Into Operating Facilities
Federal funding and research capabilities are important starting points, but moving from a promising technology to an operating facility requires coordinated technical and business planning. Companies need reliable feedstock, demonstrated process performance and customers for their finished products. They also need viable sites, a clear permitting strategy and access to capital.
Depending on a technology’s maturity, project development may include preliminary economic assessments, feasibility studies and front-end engineering. Evaluating process requirements, site conditions, utility demands, transportation access, environmental constraints and capital costs early can help companies identify gaps and present investors with a clearer picture of a project’s viability.
The funding commitments create an opportunity, but their long-term impact will depend on whether companies use this regional network to demonstrate their technologies, attract capital and establish commercial operations. By combining a central U.S. location with coordinated technical, workforce and business support, the Midwest can offer emerging critical materials companies a clearer path from innovation to production.
