Louisiana Becoming Hotbed For Critical Materials Production

Louisiana is fast becoming a hub for processing critical minerals, rare earths and electrolyte salts used to produce lithium-ion batteries, with one plant operating successfully and seven more now under construction around the state.

The Trump administration and U.S. producers are racing to wean the country from dependence on imports from China.

Second-term Republican President Donald Trump on March 20 signed an executive order titled “Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production” which is aimed at boosting domestic production of critical minerals and reducing reliance on foreign supplies. China has dominated the often dirty, capital-intensive business of processing critical minerals and rare earths for three decades.

Since 2022, companies planning and building plants in Louisiana that will process rare earths, critical minerals, and components of lithium-ion batteries have received more than $1 billion in grants, loans, and tax credits from the U.S. Departments of Energy and Defense and the state of Louisiana.

The Trump administration Wednesday proposed $1 billion of additional funding for the Department of Energy aimed at sponsoring partnerships to develop and scale up mining and processing technologies in the critical minerals and materials supply chains. The funding proposal includes up to $500 million for the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, which is to be used to boost U.S. processing of critical minerals and battery manufacturing.

At England Airpark in Alexandria, Ucore North America Rare Metals Inc. began construction in May on a plant that will separate rare earth metals from oxides shipped to the facility through the Port of New Orleans. Ucore received Department of Defense grants totaling $22.4 million to design and build the plant and was chosen for $15 million in tax exemptions by Louisiana Gov. Jon Bel Edwards in 2023. England Airpark, a repurposed Air Force base, is a duty-free zone.