Department of Defense awards $12.7M contract in push to increase titanium powder production

IperionX Technology, LLC won a $12.7 million contract with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) this week focused on increasing titanium powder production for defense supply chains.

Awarded under the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) program, this contract will allow IperionX to scale up its facility in Virginia to a demonstration plant and increase its titanium power production to 125 metric tons (MT) annually. Currently, the company produces titanium alloys from either titanium minerals or 100 percent recycled material, and it hopes to produce 10,000 MT of titanium metal powder annually within five years.

Titanium powder can be used in everything from car components to light-weight aerospace parts, medical components and more.

“Robust and resilient defense supply chains are critical to the Warfighting capability of the United States,” Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, said. “Domestic titanium production is a top priority for the DoD’s industrial base programs.”

IperionX is a titanium metal and critical materials company, with goals to supply industries such as aerospace and electric vehicles. Its receipt of this DPAI award marked the 21st such award doled out by the government this year.