Project Vault: A Minerals Security Backstop

Last week, the U.S. Department of State hosted the largest ministerial in over four years, gathering foreign ministers from 55 countries for the inaugural Critical Minerals Ministerial. In the days leading up to the gathering, the Trump administration announced the launch of a U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve, also known as Project Vault. This public-private partnership, backed by $10 billion in Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) financing, aims to store 60 critical minerals for civilian industries to strengthen industrial resilience and economic security during supply chain disruptions.

Q1: What is Project Vault, and why is it crucial to the future of U.S. economic security?

A1: On February 2, the EXIM Chairman John Jovanovic joined Donald Trump, cabinet secretaries, and senior officials in the Oval Office to announce Project Vault. Structured as an independently governed public-private partnership, the Federal Reserve will store essential raw materials at facilities across the United States to bolster economic and industrial resilience.

Unlike traditional government stockpiles, this is an unprecedented approach that is original equipment manufacturer (OEM)–driven and demand-led: Manufacturers identify which materials are critical, at what grades and volumes, and commit financially to ensure those materials are available when disruptions occur. The goal is to provide predictability, stabilize supply, and catalyze domestic mining, processing, and refining without relying on taxpayer subsidies.

One of the key distinctions between Project Vault and the National Defense Stockpile (NDS) lies in purpose and scope. The NDS was established in 1939 and was designed to support the defense industrial base. Project Vault, by contrast, is an independently governed and operated public-private partnership providing an economic security mechanism that is intended to provide a strategic buffer of critical materials for commercial manufacturers. The commercial stockpile is vital to protecting U.S. industry; in 2025, Ford was forced to halt production of its Explorer model due to a rare earths shortage, underscoring how supply disruptions now pose material risks not only to national defense but to civilian manufacturing.

The stockpile will include all 60 minerals listed on the U.S. Geological Survey’s 2025 Critical Minerals List. Project Vault has commanded the largest financing in EXIM’s 92-year history, underscoring the agency’s prioritization of critical minerals.

Q2: What is the financing model behind Project Vault?

A2: Project Vault functions like a long-term insurance policy for U.S. manufacturers. Its purpose is to provide stability and supply resilience in the face of market disruptions, and the financing structure is designed to support that mission. Under the model, EXIM provides a large, long-term loan, complemented by private capital. These funds are used to purchase and store critical minerals within the United States before shortages occur.

Participating manufacturers do not receive access for free. Instead, they make long-term commitments to the program and pay a commitment fee in exchange for access to specified materials during market disruptions. As part of those commitments, participants also cover storage costs and interest on the financing. These costs are capitalized over the life of the commitment, which largely eliminates interim cash outlays unless and until materials are withdrawn.

The commitment fee can be viewed as a security premium. Rather than paying volatile spot-market prices in a crisis, participants effectively pre-fund supply certainty. The premium compensates the program for holding inventory, maintaining liquidity, and ensuring that material is available when it is most strategically and commercially critical.

Q3: How does Project Vault address commodity shelf life while maintaining readiness during supply disruptions?

A3: The shelf-life constraint is managed by allowing OEMs to withdraw a set amount annually for normal use, provided they replenish the reserve back to their original committed level, thus ensuring inventory is rotated while commitments remain constant. Release triggers are governed by clear, predefined, and transparent criteria agreed to upfront. Rather than discretionary decisions, manufacturers can access the reserve when specific market-disruption conditions are met, giving them the predictability they need to plan production. By aligning these terms in advance and allowing OEMs to subscribe through forward commitments rather than tying up balance-sheet capital, the structure achieved broad buy-in, ultimately generating strong and growing interest across the manufacturing base.

Q4: Where will Project Vault source its minerals?

A4: At the outset, Project Vault would procure minerals on the global market to build an initial inventory efficiently and at scale. Over time, sourcing decisions would be made by Project Vault’s independent leadership based on commercial considerations and supply availability. There are no predetermined geographic restrictions. The model is designed to remain commercially driven while enabling flexibility to prioritize secure supply sources as the program matures.

In practice, some materials may be sourced from China, particularly in cases where alternative capacity does not yet exist at a commercial scale. Project Vault is not premised on an immediate decoupling from current market realities. Rather, it provides a mechanism to build a domestic buffer against potential future disruptions while allied nations work to develop diversified supply chains. Project Vault strengthens resilience as the transition toward more secure, geographically diversified sourcing progresses.

Q5: Is Project Vault a platform for allied economic security—or a U.S.-only reserve?

A5: During his fireside chat at CSIS, Chairman Jovanovic underscored that Project Vault is not designed as a U.S.-only initiative or a vehicle for hoarding critical minerals. Rather, it is intended to strengthen shared supply chains through coordinated economic cooperation and responsible mineral development. Early discussions with G7 and other allied finance ministers revealed strong interest in partnering with the United States on this model. While the program will initially focus on participation from U.S. OEMs during its launch phase, it is structured to allow for broader allied engagement over time.

Gracelin Baskaran is director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, explore CSIS's Executive Education course Driving Critical Minerals Security.