Critical mineral resource security is an increasingly prominent “flavour” in what US-based Cleantech Group sees as a stronger connection between cleantech investment and national security policies.
The research group, which has just released its annual Global Cleantech 100 list of companies, says it has seen a “clear change in the vernacular” of cleantech firms over the past year.
“Security” was a lead point in more companies’ marketing decks than ever. Meanwhile, growth in the space was concentrating around two dominant themes: AI infrastructure and critical minerals.
“There are multiple flavours to the security argument in cleantech, namely, resource security – think critical minerals, energy, water – but also several areas where there is a direct overlap with national security and defence,” Cleantech Group said.
Analyst Anthony DeOrsey said no tech theme had seen a more “obvious endorsement” from the defence ecosystem than that of critical minerals.
“In July of 2025 the US Department of War made a landmark agreement with MP Materials that included US$400 million of stock purchases and a 10-year agreement to purchase neodymium-praseodymium,” DeOrsey said.
“The Department of War subsequently provided a $620 million loan to Vulcan Elements as a part of a larger partnership to produce magnets within the US. These demand signals are rippling through the supply ecosystem in real time.
“While the defence interest has had an observable stimulating effect on the ecosystem it is worth noting that technologies vary across mineral type and at different levels of the value chain. Fast de-risking and prove-out of unit economics will still be essential for companies in the space to progress into market readiness in time to catch the demand wave that continues to roll right now.”
Cleantech Group said continued concerns over supply chain domination by China meant technologies that offered superior material performance while eliminating supply chain risk would continue to be of “paramount strategic value” in 2026.
“The current geopolitical environment has made reliance on single sources of refined materials and concentrated supply chains for critical minerals untenable. We expect that technologies offering decentralised processing and recovery of materials in circulation will continue to see enthusiasm,” the group said.
“With that said, price premiums are still the norm in on-shored and friend-shored minerals.
“Achieving enough iterations to drive down cost, in enough time to supply critical minerals at industrial scale is the challenge that many of this year’s Global Cleantech 100 are taking aim at.”
Cleantech Group had North America dominating more than US$1.5 billion of venture capital investments in “critical materials innovation” in 2025, with major concentrations of funding in mining exploration and production, anodes and cathodes, and battery recycling. Funding also flowed into lithium, copper, rare earths and nickel extraction and refining.
The group said the “critical materials and metals trend” strengthened in the 17th edition of its Global Cleantech 100 list, with newcomers such as VerAI, ElectraLith, Hertha Metals, Niron Magnetics, Phoenix Tailings and SiTration joining returnees Boston Metal, Cyclic Materials, Cylib, Mangrove Lithium, Nth Cycle, Solarcycle and Sortera.
“As nations reduce reliance on single-source supply chains, decentralised and resource-efficient refining solutions such as those from ElectraLith, Mangrove Lithium, Nth Cycle, Cyclic Materials, Cylib and SiTration are gaining momentum,” it said.
“Companies such as Niron Magnetics, Phoenix Tailings and Boston Metal exemplify approaches to eliminate supply chain vulnerabilities, reduce dependence on concentrated refining hubs and strengthen domestic capacity. This shift aligns with recent geopolitical urgency and expanded government investment in critical minerals and magnet production.”
Urban mining and recycling was a particularly prominent theme.
“The renewed urgency to claim critical minerals is providing a tailwind to recycling approaches, which represent the nearest-term path to on-shored critical minerals,” Cleantech Group said.
US-based VerAI, which raised $24 million of series B equity funding early in 2025, was described by Cleantech as “one of the leaders in the emerging AI-driven mining exploration segment”.
“The importance of AI in the cleantech theme goes well beyond the power demand, data centre and grid story and into how it is being used to accelerate and design solutions,” it said.
“Generic tools are becoming commoditised while the leaders use proprietary data to unlock new revenue and scale into adjacent markets. Companies such as VerAI, Splight and Jua illustrate how unique datasets and advanced modelling can reveal concealed mineral resources, improve grid efficiency, and enhance forecasting accuracy.”
Despite headwinds, long-term indicators for the broader cleantech sector remain encouraging, according to Cleantech Group.
“When viewed over the past decade, venture investment levels – often a proxy for growth expectations – show the themes remains significantly more robust than 10 years ago and continues to outperform pre-pandemic norms,” CEO Richard Youngman said.
“This year’s Global Cleantech 100 reflects a market in transition – one that is becoming more disciplined, more discerning and ultimately more resilient. While the adjustment phase has been painful for some parts of the ecosystem we are also witnessing remarkable bursts of innovation responding to new sources of demand, from AI-driven power needs to critical materials security.”
