As I’ve famous greater than as soon as in latest months, 2025 was the yr for essential minerals, and the U.S. additive manufacturing (AM) trade made probably the most of that. IperionX, the Charlotte-based titanium miner and processor, was a main exemplar of that development, and already in 2026, the corporate is illustrating why the yr of essential minerals was doubtless simply the start line for the period of essential minerals.
American Rheinmetall, the Michigan-based Tier 1 provider to the Pentagon (in addition to the total vary of different heavy trade verticals), has simply positioned a $300,000 buy order with IperionX for over 700 prototype parts for U.S. Military floor automobile techniques. Whereas $300,000 might not knock your socks off, contemplating that IperionX obtained a Division of Protection (DoD) contract final yr price practically $50 million, it’s price protecting in thoughts that these kinds of low-volume preliminary contracts are sometimes the precursor to bigger follow-up orders.
And, certainly, IperionX notes exactly that in its announcement of the American Rheinmetall order. IperionX additionally notes that the precise goal of the bottom automobile parts is lightweighting: in keeping with the corporate, the titanium prototypes — supposed as options to metal counterparts — ought to lead to a 40-45 % weight discount per unit in comparison with the elements they exchange.
Additional, in accordance with IperionX’s general enterprise mannequin and core worth propositions, the elements will likely be manufactured within the U.S. with 100% recycled feedstock. IperionX is amongst a variety of rising U.S. firms which can be aiming to assist the U.S. army increase its provide chain resilience by leveraging round economics.
In a press launch about IperionX’s $300,000 buy order from American Rheinmetall for U.S. floor system prototypes, IperionX’s CEO, Taso Arima, mentioned, “This buy order demonstrates the sensible utility of IperionX’s recycled titanium applied sciences on essential U.S. floor fight platforms. As the one home producer of business main titanium, IperionX is uniquely positioned to help home protection priorities with safe, low-carbon, and cost-competitive titanium merchandise manufactured completely in america.”
The Pentagon is the primary group that basically nobody would consider in reference to the theme of sustainability. Nevertheless, the current geopolitical setting has made the U.S. army’s have to lock down its personal essential useful resource provide a strategic crucial, and the truth that U.S. strategic opponents have such singular management over international mineral provides implies that recycling needs to be a key a part of the DoD’s sourcing technique going ahead.
Intriguingly, IperionX additionally just lately introduced that the DoD gave the corporate practically 300 tons of high-quality titanium scrap “freed from cost“, which I’m assuming implies that IperionX picked up the hauling prices — however nonetheless, that’s the definition of a win-win. Contemplating the entire scrap that the U.S. protection industrial base is sitting on, that formulation might realistically change your complete U.S. metals provide chain if it will definitely scales.
And, there’s already a mechanism that might assist scale the idea, presently being floated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers: a $2.5 billion “impartial company” devoted to constructing essential mineral stockpiles within the U.S. Whereas there’s no particular point out but that recycling will play a task in that company, I don’t assume it’s unreasonable to count on that it may very well be one of many choices on the desk.
In any case, there’s no scarcity of pathways presently circulating for firms trying to type public-private partnerships centered round constructing strategic useful resource stockpiles. The AM trade will expertise a monumental transformation if it may possibly play even a small function in that development trajectory.
Photographs courtesy of IperionX
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