May 19, 2026
Cheyenne, WY – Big Blue Technologies (BBT) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation for a $10 million award under the Critical Material Innovation, Efficiency, and Alternatives funding opportunity. Combined with $10 million in matching non-DOE funding, the project represents $20 million in total investment to scale BBT’s primary magnesium metal production process from pilot to commercial operation.
The award will fund a modular set of smelters capable of converting common dolomite ore and scrap aluminum into primary magnesium metal and a valuable calcium aluminate co-product. Under the project, BBT will demonstrate 2,000 hours of operation of the smelter, a milestone that lays the groundwork for a future commercial-scale plant expansion at the company’s Cheyenne, Wyoming site.
Magnesium metal is designated a critical material essential to aluminum alloys, lightweight vehicle and aircraft parts, military applications, and steel and titanium production. The United States currently has no significant domestic primary magnesium production, leaving manufacturers reliant on foreign supply. BBT’s award was announced alongside a project from USA Rare Earth as part of $45.7 million in DOE funding for 19 projects aimed at strengthening domestic critical minerals and materials supply chains.
“This funding validates years of work turning a laboratory concept into a process that can meet real industrial demand,” said Aaron Palumbo, CEO of BBT. “It moves us decisively closer to standing up the first significant domestic source of primary magnesium metal in decades.”
BBT expects the project to directly support the buildout of its Cheyenne demonstration facility and position the company for full commercial-scale production in the years ahead.