Critical Minerals Crossroads consortium, led by University of Missouri-Kansas City and including ReElement, is competing for major NSF Regional Innovation Engines Award
Total Award carries potential funding of up to $160 million over ten years
FISHERS, IN / ACCESS Newswire / October 7, 2025 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources") through its holding in ReElement Technologies Corporation ("ReElement"), a leading U.S. innovator in rare earth element (REE) and critical mineral refining, today announced that the Critical Materials Crossroads consortium - led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in partnership with ReElement Technologies and other regional collaborators - has officially advanced as one of 15 national finalists for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Regional Innovation Engines competition.
Kirk Taylor, Chief Financial Officer of ReElement Technologies commented, "ReElement's multi-mineral refining platform has created a new standard for solving one of the most complex challenges in the critical mineral supply chain - economically viable refining. Through a collaborative approach, we're helping build domestic innovation and production ecosystems that are essential for long-term supply chain resilience. We're honored to partner with the Critical Materials Crossroads team on this vital initiative."
The NSF Engines program, launched in 2023, represents one of the nation's largest investments in regional innovation and workforce development. In early 2024, NSF received nearly 300 letters of intent for its second funding opportunity. From these, 71 teams advanced to submit full proposals, followed by a rigorous merit review process that selected 29 semifinalists. After in-depth virtual assessments of each team's leadership, partnerships, and vision, NSF selected 15 finalists - including the Critical Materials Crossroads - to move forward in the final round of competition.
As part of the final evaluation stage, the NSF will conduct on-site assessments of the finalist teams in January 2026 to further assess coalition alignment, leadership capacity, and research and innovation strategies. The NSF Engines awardees are expected to be announced in early 2026, with up to $160 million in funding over ten years available to accelerate regional economic growth, workforce development, and technology commercialization in key innovation areas.
The groundwork for the Critical Materials Crossroads initiative began in May 2023, when UMKC received a $1 million, 24-month federal cooperative agreement to develop a regional critical materials ecosystem in Kansas City. Since then, the consortium has been building a vertically integrated hub for critical materials processing, technology development, applied research, and workforce training - ensuring that the United States can produce, refine, and deploy critical materials domestically to strengthen economic security, national resilience, and global competitiveness.
The Critical Materials Crossroads ecosystem brings together universities, businesses, industry organizations, nonprofits, and state, local, and federal partners across Kansas and Missouri to advance regional manufacturing, create high-quality jobs, and promote broad access to innovation and entrepreneurship.
Anthony Caruso, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and UMKC Curators' Distinguished Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering, is the principal investigator for the grant.
"Being selected as an NSF Engines finalist is an extraordinary honor for the Critical Materials Crossroads and for the Kansas City region," Caruso said. "The NSF recognition underscores the strength of our partnerships across universities, industry and community organizations that have made this achievement possible. Together, we are positioning Kansas City as a national leader in critical materials innovation, workforce development and regional economic growth."
About Critical Mineral Crossroads
Critical Materials Crossroads is a regional innovation consortium led by the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partnership with universities, industry, government, and nonprofit organizations across Kansas and Missouri. The consortium is focused on creating a vertically integrated critical materials ecosystem-spanning research, processing, refining, applied technology development, and workforce training. As one of 15 finalists for the National Science Foundation's Regional Innovation Engines competition, Critical Materials Crossroads aims to boost domestic capacity, economic growth, and national security by helping the U.S. onshore critical mineral and rare earth value chains.
About NSF Regional Innovation Engines
Launched by NSF TIP, the NSF Engines program is building and scaling regional innovation ecosystems nationwide. Each NSF Engine is powered by a broad coalition of private sector, regional and scientific leaders and organizations to accelerate breakthrough emerging technology R&D that drives growth and ultimately bolsters U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.
About ReElement Technologies Corporation
ReElement Technologies Corporation, a portfolio company of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC), is a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements. Its multi-mineral, multi-feedstock platform technology focuses on the refining of recycled material from rare earth permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, concentrated ores and brines, as well as coal-based waste streams and byproducts to create a cost effective and environmentally-safe, circular supply chain. ReElement has developed its innovative and scalable "Powered by ReElement" process which collaboratively utilizes its exclusively licensed intellectual property within its partners' material processing flow sheets to more efficiently support the global supply chain's growing demand for magnet and battery-grade products. For more information visit reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
About American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC)
American Resources Corporation is a leader in the critical mineral supply chain, developing innovative solutions both upstream and downstream of the refining process. The company and its affiliates focus on the extraction and processing of metallurgical carbon and iron ore, essential ingredients in steelmaking, as well as critical and rare earth minerals for the electrification market and recycled metals.
Leveraging its affiliation and former parent status of ReElement Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements, American Resources is investing in and developing efficient upstream and downstream critical mineral operations. These operations include mining interests in conventional and unconventional sources, recycling, and manufacturing.
American Resources has established a nimble, low-cost business model centered on growth, which provides a significant opportunity to scale its portfolio of assets to meet the growing global infrastructure and electrification markets while also continuing to acquire operations and significantly reduce their legacy industry risks. Its streamlined and efficient operations are able to maximize margins while reducing costs. For more information visit americanresourcescorp.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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Investor Contact:
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SOURCE: American Resources Corporation
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