MCTI launches working group to transform mineral wealth into technology, industry, and sustainable development.

New MCTI group will propose actions to expand technological and industrial content in Brazilian mineral supply chains.

From cell phone batteries to solar panels, electric cars and medical equipment, strategic minerals are at the heart of the world's technological and industrial transformations. With a focus on expanding Brazil's capacity to transform these resources into knowledge, innovation and higher value-added products, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) launched, this Wednesday morning (13), in Brasília, the Innovation Working Group for the Mineral Sector (GT Soberania Tecnológica Nacional).

On the same day, the federal government published in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU) Ordinance MCTI No. 10,064, of May 12, 2026 , which officially establishes the group and defines its competencies.

The working group will be tasked with developing the proposal for the National Program for Research, Technological Development, Technological Extension, and Innovation for the Mineral Sector, the Inova+Mineral Program. This initiative aims to structure a national agenda focused on strengthening scientific infrastructure, training specialized professionals, technological development, industrialization, and expanding the national content in mineral supply chains considered strategic for the country.

Science, technology and value creation

During the launch, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, stated that the mineral agenda goes beyond the logic of extracting natural resources and directly involves science, technology, industry, and national sovereignty.

“Global demand for critical and strategic minerals is growing with the energy transition, the digitalization of the economy, and new technologies that increasingly depend on these inputs. Therefore, when we talk about strategic minerals, we are also talking about sovereignty, development, and the place Brazil wants to occupy in the future,” he stated.

Luciana Santos also highlighted that the government's objective is to expand Brazil's presence in the most technologically intensive stages of the mineral supply chain. “We don't want Brazil to be merely a supplier of raw materials to the world. Brazil cannot accept the role of exporting raw ore and importing expensive technology. Brazil has the intelligence, institutions, and productive capacity to transform its mineral wealth into knowledge, innovation, sustainability, and sovereignty,” she stated.

Strategic agenda for industry and the energy transition.

According to the decree published in the Official Gazette, the program will be based on the Brazilian Mineral Policy, the New Industry Brazil (NIB), the Ecological Transformation Plan, the Climate Plan, the National Circular Economy Strategy, and the National Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy (ENCTI). Among the initiative's priorities are energy transition, ecological transformation, food security, and the country's sustainable development.

The group will be coordinated by the Secretariat for Technological Development and Innovation (Setec/MCTI) and includes participation from the Mineral Technology Center (Cetem), the Financing Agency for Studies and Projects (Finep), the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Brazilian Industrial Research and Innovation Company (Embrapii), and the Center for Management and Strategic Studies (CGEE). The Executive Secretariat will be the responsibility of the MCTI's Department of Innovation Programs.

The proposal will be presented to Minister Luciana Santos within 90 days, a period that may be extended once for an equal period.

Technological challenges and the country's strategic role.

The Secretary of Technological Development and Innovation at MCTI, Daniel Almeida, stated that the international scenario demands the strengthening of national technological capabilities in the mineral sector.

"Today, the countries that lead technological development associated with critical and strategic minerals are not necessarily those that only possess mineral reserves, but those capable of mastering technologies, structuring industrial chains, and transforming knowledge into productive capacity and innovation," he said.

According to him, the group will seek to integrate public policies, financing instruments, universities, research centers, and companies to expand Brazil's capacity for mineral innovation.

The director of the Department of Innovation Programs at MCTI, Osório Guimarães, emphasized that the GT's proposal is to organize a national agenda based on strategic priorities and technical evidence.

“The idea behind the working group is precisely to take advantage of all this accumulated knowledge and build a new agenda, based on the successes and lessons learned from previous projects. We need to answer where Brazil wants to go in the mineral sector and which production chains will be prioritized for the country,” he added.

Investments and strengthening mineral innovation

The launch of the Working Group comes amid an expansion of public investments in research, development, and innovation in the country. Between 2023 and 2025, Finep contracted more than 5,300 research, development, and innovation projects, with a volume exceeding R$ 45 billion — a 235% increase compared to the period between 2019 and 2022.

In the mineral sector, the Finep Mais Inovação Brasil — Transformação Mineral program allocates R$ 200 million in non-refundable resources for Brazilian companies to develop technological solutions in the sector. The funding lines cover critical minerals, urban mining, waste reuse, sustainable technologies, and decarbonization of mineral processing.

Among the materials considered priorities are lithium, copper, nickel, graphite, rare earths, niobium, silicon, cobalt, and titanium, used in batteries, semiconductors, renewable energy systems, and high-tech equipment.

The calls also prioritize projects related to the recovery of degraded areas, dam monitoring, electronic waste recycling, and low-carbon industrial technologies, such as low-emission hydrogen and CO₂ capture.

Scientific basis and installed capacity

The MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) also highlights that Brazil has a consolidated science, technology and innovation structure focused on the mineral sector. The country currently has approximately 22 National Institutes of Science and Technology linked to mining, 58 Embrapii units working in mineral processing, and more than 96 local mineral-based production clusters distributed across different regions of the country.

The Mineral Technology Center (Cetem), a research unit linked to the MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation), has been working since 1978 on the development of technologies aimed at the sustainable use of Brazilian mineral resources and is the only public institute in the country specializing in mineral and environmental technology applied to mining.

Source: Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation - MCTI.