On 15 May 2026, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced the creation of a new financing facility called the “Critical Minerals Supply Chain Initiative” (CMSCI) during its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia. The facility is designed to help Asia Pacific countries develop secure, diversified and sustainable supply chains for the seven minerals essential to clean energy technologies: lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese, copper and rare earth elements.

The CMSCI has an initial capital of USD 2.5 billion from ADB’s own ordinary capital resources, and it aims to mobilise an additional USD 7.5 billion from commercial banks, development finance institutions and sovereign wealth funds. The facility provides a suite of financial instruments: long term loans (up to 25 years) with concessional rates, first loss guarantees for greenfield mining projects, equity co investments, and technical assistance for geological surveys and environmental impact assessments.

The initiative specifically targets six priority countries: Indonesia (nickel and bauxite), the Philippines (nickel and copper), Papua New Guinea (copper and gold by products), Vietnam (rare earths), Mongolia (copper and rare earths), and Australia (lithium and cobalt). ADB has already signed memoranda of understanding with state owned mining companies in these countries to prepare a pipeline of “bankable” projects that meet high environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards.

A key innovation of the CMSCI is its “circular economy” window, which will invest in urban mining and battery recycling facilities. For example, the facility is co financing a lithium ion battery recycling plant in Indonesia’s Morowali Industrial Park, which will recover 95% of nickel, cobalt and lithium from spent EV batteries. Another pilot project in the Philippines will extract copper and gold from abandoned mine tailings, turning waste into a resource.

ADB’s Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development stated: “Asia is the world’s largest manufacturing hub for batteries, EVs and electronics, yet it imports the vast majority of critical minerals from a handful of suppliers. The CMSCI is not about extraction at any cost – it is about building transparent, responsible and climate compatible mineral value chains within the region.” Environmental groups, however, have urged ADB to adopt strict safeguards against deforestation and water pollution, especially in biodiversity rich areas like Papua and the Philippines’ Palawan region.

The first tranche of projects (totalling USD 1.2 billion) is expected to reach financial close by the end of 2026. ADB estimates that if fully deployed, the CMSCI could reduce Asia’s import dependence for critical minerals from over 80% today to about 50% by 2035, while creating an estimated 250,000 direct jobs in mining, refining and recycling.