The Department of Defense’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, in partnership with the Economic Defense Unit, have invested a $450 million redeemable preferred equity investment in the Elmet Group through the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.
The Maine-based Elmet Group is a fully integrated producer of tungsten and molybdenum materials, components that support more than 100 Defense Department programs.
“This investment reflects the department’s commitment to rebuilding critical industrial capacity in the United States,” Mike Cadenazzi, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy said. “Expanding domestic tungsten processing will strengthen supply chain resilience, support high-quality manufacturing jobs, and reinforce the production base behind essential defense systems.”
The investment is expected to strengthen domestic tungsten capacity, expand U.S.-aligned refining and processing capacity, and help reduce reliance on adversary-dominated supply chains in markets where China currently dominates global supply. China controls an estimated 85 percent of tungsten and 40 percent of molybdenum.
Elmet Group also will use the funding to open the only independent ammonium paratungstate facility in North America. Tungsten is a critical component used in aerospace, missiles, munitions, propulsion, naval, undersea, and industrial manufacturing electronics applications. Ammonium paratungstate is a key step in tungsten processing.