DIBC Critical Minerals RPP-CM-26-02: What Startups Need to Know

Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).

Quick Answer

The Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) has opened a Request for Project Proposals titled Domestic Processing Capabilities of Critical Minerals, numbered RPP-CM-26-02. It funds domestic production and processing of four in-scope critical minerals: indium, magnesium, manganese (including high purity and electrolytic), and titanium (including sponge and sponge substitutes). The opportunity is run by the Department of War's Industrial Base Policy office through an Other Transaction (OT) agreement, which means awards are not governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation and can use flexible, non-dilutive and equity-style funding tools. The process has two phases. Phase 1 is a single Quad Chart, due September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. To submit, your company must be a member of the DIBC, be registered on SAM.gov, and file through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. There is no published dollar ceiling, and evaluation language contemplates projects worth more than 100 million dollars and more than 500 million dollars, so awards can range from focused pilot efforts to very large capacity-building projects.

What This Opportunity Is

RPP-CM-26-02 is a solicitation issued under the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, an Other Transaction vehicle administered by Advanced Technology International (ATI) on behalf of Washington Headquarters Services, Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD). The sponsoring organization is Industrial Base Policy (IBP), which sits within the Office of the Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment. IBP works through its Warfighting Investments, Resourcing, and Execution office and draws on two authorities: Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) and Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III.

The purpose is to build resilient, secure domestic supply chains for critical minerals that matter to national security and defense. It responds directly to Executive Order 14241, signed March 20, 2025, titled Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, which directed the government to expand domestic mining, processing, refining, and smelting to the maximum extent possible and to use Defense Production Act authorities to get there.

Because this is an OT and not a traditional contract, the award instrument is a Project Agreement between ATI and the government, flowed down to your company as a project sub-agreement. Neither instrument is subject to the FAR or its supplements. That gives the government room to negotiate commercial terms, milestone-based fixed pricing, and the equity-style structures described later on this page.

The Four In-Scope Minerals

Your proposed project must address at least one of these commodities:

Indium.

Magnesium.

Manganese, including high purity and electrolytic forms.

Titanium, including sponge and sponge substitutes.

The government is clear that this list does not represent every mineral it considers critical. It also actively encourages co-production. If your process produces at least one in-scope mineral, you may recover additional in-scope minerals or other critical mineral products as co-products or by-products, and that breadth is viewed favorably.

The Six Capability Areas (AOIs)

Beyond naming a mineral, your project must fit at least one of six Areas of Interest. You can span more than one.

AOI 1, Raw mineral sourcing and beneficiation. This covers identifying, extracting, concentrating, and beneficiating ores to source an in-scope mineral. It includes bankable or definitive feasibility studies needed to secure investment, infrastructure and capital investments to operationalize mining or beneficiation, development of by-product or co-product streams from existing operations, productivity enhancements such as flowsheet optimization or autonomous systems, and efforts that move extraction projects toward operation or expand current capacity.

AOI 2, Separation and processing. Processes that transform raw or beneficiated material into intermediate chemical forms such as oxides, chlorides, and salts.

AOI 3, Metal production, metallization, refining, and upscaling. Producing metals from semi-processed material by smelting and other methods, and refining or upscaling metals to purified forms suitable for critical applications.

AOI 4, Alloying and finish processing. Creating alloys from two or more metals, coating or plating materials to impart specific properties, and transforming or combining purified materials into products ready to enter critical component supply chains.

AOI 5, Recycling, recovery, and alternative sourcing. Recovering in-scope minerals from mine tailings, industrial waste, scrap, swarf, end-of-life material, and other underutilized sources. Recovery can happen at any point in the value chain.

AOI 6, Supporting supply chains. Producing chemical reagents, key inputs, tooling, production equipment, and other materials that support the critical processes in these mineral value chains. This also includes qualifying materials for Department of War systems and applications.

The government specifically encourages holistic solutions that touch multiple stages, for example extraction plus beneficiation plus processing to oxide, or recycling plus metal making plus refining plus alloying to defense specifications.

What the Government Is Actually Looking For

This is not a research-for-its-own-sake program. The Department of War wants demonstrable progress toward standing up and securing real supply chains. A competitive proposal makes a clear case on several fronts.

It states the effort's impact and its relevance to defense industry supply chains, and it quantifies expected production volumes rather than speaking in generalities.

It addresses the current state of the market, the demand picture, and a sustainable commercialization pathway for the mineral and capability area you are targeting. The government is funding capacity that can survive commercially, not a demonstration that collapses when funding ends.

It specifies both a Technology Readiness Level and a Manufacturing Readiness Level, giving the starting point, the finishing point, and a clear description of the advancement your project will deliver on each scale.

Solutions that cross multiple AOIs, produce multiple minerals, or knit together several nodes of a supply chain are encouraged, provided they still name at least one in-scope mineral and at least one AOI.

Eligibility: You Must Be a DIBC Member First

This is the single most important thing for a startup to understand, because the solicitation assumes it throughout by referring only to "Consortium Members." You cannot submit unless your company is a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium.

DIBC membership is open to United States based companies, United States based affiliates of foreign companies, and organizations based in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It is open to companies, innovators, research institutions, and academic institutions working on defense industrial base supply chain challenges. Membership is currently free for the first year, and dues thereafter are modest, with the consortium reserving the right to charge up to 250 dollars annually. Membership does not imply any government endorsement, and it does not guarantee funding or an award.

Two practical points matter for timing. First, you must be registered in the System for Award Management at SAM.gov to receive an award, and you must keep that registration active for the life of the sub-agreement. Non United States entities also need a NATO Commercial and Government Entity code. Second, apply for membership early. Waiting until a solicitation is already open can create processing delays that leave you unable to submit before the deadline. With a September 17 close, a startup that is not yet a member should begin the membership and SAM.gov steps immediately and in parallel.

Funding Structures and Cost Considerations

There is no fixed award ceiling published in this RPP. The evaluation criteria explicitly contemplate projects valued over 100 million dollars and over 500 million dollars, with progressively stricter justification requirements at each tier, which signals that awards can be substantial. Smaller, focused efforts are equally in scope.

As a default, agreements are executed as fixed-price with a milestone schedule that doubles as the payment schedule. Each milestone should map to specific priced tasks or deliverables. Other award types can be proposed and negotiated, so the fixed-price default is a starting point rather than a hard rule.

The government also signals a wide menu of financial tools beyond a straight milestone-payment agreement, particularly for technologies and materials critical to national security. These include direct equity stakes, Simple Agreements for Future Equity, convertible notes, percent-of-revenue or royalty and revenue-share agreements (including convertible revenue share, royalty with warrants, and equity-linked royalty structures), and offtake agreements at a guaranteed price point that may carry an equity-linked component. Under DPA Title III specifically, the government can use purchase commitments and guarantees to create guaranteed demand, loans where private financing is not commercially available, and loan guarantees where credit is otherwise unavailable on reasonable terms. For a capital-intensive minerals project, these demand-side and financing tools can matter as much as the direct award.

For a prototype project awarded under 10 U.S.C. 4022, there is a participation and cost-share requirement. The use of that authority is contingent on one of three conditions being met: significant participation by at least one nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution, complete participation by a small business, or a resource contribution of at least one-third from any consortium member that does not fall into the categories just named. A startup that qualifies as a nontraditional defense contractor or small business is well positioned here, because its participation can satisfy this condition without a mandatory one-third cash match. If you rely on the resource-contribution path instead, you must tie each contribution to the milestone payment schedule and summarize the base and option period split.

One more cost note. The government will not reimburse any costs you incur preparing a submission in either phase, so proposal development is at your own expense.

Timeline and Deadlines

Release date: August 21, 2026.

Phase 1 Quad Chart due: September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. Late submissions may not be reviewed or considered, and the government may close the RPP at any time.

Phase 2 by invitation: only companies selected from Phase 1 are invited to submit the full proposal package. There is no public fixed date for Phase 2, because invitations are issued on a rolling basis after Phase 1 review.

The basket: a Phase 1 Quad Chart that is not immediately selected is held in what the government calls "the basket" for a minimum of 24 months and remains eligible for a Phase 2 invitation during that window. A qualifying Phase 2 package the government chooses not to fund immediately is likewise held for at least 24 months and remains eligible for award. Submissions in the basket may be shared with other government agencies for other opportunities, with access restricted to government users. This means a strong submission has a long shelf life even if it is not funded on the first pass.

Follow-on production: because this can be awarded as a competitively selected prototype OT, a successfully completed prototype may lead to a follow-on production agreement without a new competition, under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f). That follow-on is negotiated separately.

How to Apply, Step by Step

First, confirm eligibility and become a DIBC member if you are not already, and complete or verify your SAM.gov registration. Do these in parallel and start now given the deadline.

Second, prepare the Phase 1 Quad Chart using the mandatory template provided with the solicitation. This is a concise, single-artifact outline of your proposed solution. Do not alter the template syntax or formatting, other than converting to a final PDF. Files must be print-capable, unencrypted, not password protected, and under 5 megabytes.

Third, submit electronically through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. The RPP itself is posted on the DIBC opportunities website at dibconsortium.org/solicitations, where you will also find AMP registration and Quick Card guidance. You are responsible for timely submission, and neither the government nor ATI assumes responsibility for transmission delays.

Fourth, if selected, complete the Phase 2 package. It consists of a cover page (two page limit), a Project Execution Plan (fifteen page limit, and the document where you lay out tasks, deliverables, payment milestones, data rights assertions, security requirements, and success criteria), an Affirmation of Business Status Certification for your company and for every entity participating to a significant extent, price information with a pricing spreadsheet and a price justification narrative, and an Environmental Assessment Questionnaire. All Phase 2 templates are mandatory.

A note on where you apply. The solicitation and your submission live in ATI's portal, not on SAM.gov. SAM.gov is where your company registration and representations must be active in order to receive an award, and those representations are incorporated by reference into any resulting agreement. Treat SAM.gov as a required credential and dibc-amp.ati.org as the submission destination.

How Proposals Are Evaluated

Phase 1 review looks at two things: relevance to the Area of Interest, and merit and feasibility relative to the Area of Interest. Miss either and your submission stops advancing. The government may decline to advance a proposal that does not address the AOI, is technically unsound or infeasible, proposes an unrealistic schedule, or is simply not of interest. Feedback on Phase 1 may not be provided, and companies are notified only if they advance.

Phase 2 review adds several factors: relevance to the AOI, merit and feasibility, reasonableness of the proposed schedule, reasonableness and adequacy of the proposed cost (with the heightened justification tiers noted above for efforts over 100 million and over 500 million dollars), and the potential impact of your data rights assertions. Overly restrictive data rights that limit the government's ability to use or share the resulting technology are called out as a specific risk.

Security, Environmental, and Compliance Notes

The default security level is unclassified, though the work may involve Controlled Technical Information or Controlled Unclassified Information. Any submission expected to include CUI is subject to the security requirements in NIST Special Publication 800-171 revision 2. Classified material may not be included in submissions.

Consortium members are expected to disclose foreign investment or control, address resource sharing, and provide supply chain data for relevant suppliers and subcontractors, including vendor name, CAGE or Unique Entity Identifier codes where applicable, and part or product numbers and descriptions.

The Environmental Assessment Questionnaire requires you to address existing environmental notices at your proposed activity location, your plans for environmental compliance and pollution prevention appropriate to the scale of the work, and a path to obtaining and maintaining the permits needed to scale the prototype, including responsible waste management and use of maximum achievable or best available control technology.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is RPP-CM-26-02?

It is the Defense Industrial Base Consortium's Request for Project Proposals for Domestic Processing Capabilities of Critical Minerals, released August 21, 2026, with Phase 1 submissions due September 17, 2026, at 12:00 PM Eastern. It funds domestic sourcing, processing, refining, alloying, recycling, and supporting supply chains for indium, magnesium, manganese, and titanium.

Which minerals are eligible?

Four commodities are in scope: indium, magnesium, manganese (including high purity and electrolytic forms), and titanium (including sponge and sponge substitutes). You must address at least one, and you may produce others as co-products or by-products.

Do I have to be a DIBC member to apply?

Yes. Only Consortium Members can submit. Membership is free for the first year and open to United States based companies, United States based affiliates of foreign companies, and entities in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Apply for membership and complete SAM.gov registration early, because starting after the solicitation opens can leave too little time to submit.

Where do I actually submit my proposal?

Through ATI's Acquisition Management Portal at dibc-amp.ati.org. The RPP and registration guidance are posted at dibconsortium.org/solicitations. SAM.gov is where your company must be registered to receive an award, but it is not where you upload your proposal.

How much funding is available?

The RPP does not publish a fixed ceiling. Evaluation language contemplates projects worth more than 100 million dollars and more than 500 million dollars, so award sizes vary widely from focused pilots to major capacity projects. Agreements default to fixed-price with milestone payments, and other structures can be negotiated.

What funding structures can the government use?

Beyond a milestone-based fixed-price agreement, the government may use direct equity stakes, SAFEs, convertible notes, royalty and revenue-share agreements, offtake agreements at a guaranteed price, and, under DPA Title III, purchase commitments, loans, and loan guarantees. These are especially relevant for capital-intensive minerals projects.

Is there a cost-share or matching requirement?

For prototype projects under 10 U.S.C. 4022, use of that authority is contingent on one of three conditions: significant participation by a nontraditional defense contractor or nonprofit research institution, complete participation by a small business, or at least a one-third resource contribution from other members. Startups that are nontraditional or small businesses can often satisfy this through participation rather than a cash match.

What do I submit in Phase 1 versus Phase 2?

Phase 1 is a single Quad Chart on the mandatory template. Phase 2, by invitation only, is a full package: a two-page cover page, a fifteen-page Project Execution Plan, an Affirmation of Business Status Certification, price information and justification, and an Environmental Assessment Questionnaire, all on mandatory templates.

What happens if I am not selected right away?

Qualifying Phase 1 and Phase 2 submissions are placed in "the basket" for at least 24 months and remain eligible for an invitation or award during that window. They may also be shared with other government agencies for other opportunities, so a strong submission keeps working for you well past the initial review.

Can this lead to a production contract?

Yes. A successfully completed prototype under this OT can lead to a follow-on production agreement without a new competition, under 10 U.S.C. 4022(f). That follow-on is negotiated separately.

Does the government pay for my proposal costs?

No. The government will not reimburse costs associated with preparing your submission in either phase.

Need Help Positioning Your Company?

Winning non-dilutive and equity-style federal funding for critical minerals work is as much about how you frame technology readiness, production volume, and commercialization as it is about the science. BW&CO helps deep-tech, materials, and defense-adjacent founders map their capability to the right authority, structure a competitive Quad Chart, and build the Phase 2 package that survives cost and data-rights review. If you are weighing a submission to RPP-CM-26-02, reach out before the September 17 deadline.