IperionX Receives SBIR Phase III Contract for Titanium in Defense Applications

IperionX has obtained a SBIR Phase III Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The potential value of the contract is $99 million, and not surprisingly is focused around “Low-Cost Domestic Titanium for Defense Applications.” The company also received a $47 million US DOD contract earlier this year.

IperionX is working on trying to produce titanium powders for additive manufacturing and beyond, in the US. out of recycled feedstock. Its HAMR process (Hydrogen Assisted Metallothermic Reduction) reduces the energy and emissions required to recycle and make titanium by optimizing the oxygen reduction step. HAMR was developed as a part of ARPA E, or Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy. Whereas SBIR I contracts tend to be very fanciful and cutting-edge, the SBIR II phase is meant to focus on making it work as a commercial product, while SBIR III is to take you fully into manufacturing. The maturing of powder development processes and investments in them is always going to be good news for all of us.

The project will see IperionX deliver titanium parts to the DoD. They’re a bit vague about which parts, but in this case, it is known that it will be fasteners. Nuts and bolts out of additive at first seems a bit, nuts. But generally, a lot of people have been looking at 3D printed fasteners in the broadest sense. In this case, the fasteners could also potentially be made with traditional methods, and from recycled titanium nonetheless. With a lot of different SKU, their availability is not always assured. Testing them may be easier than for other parts as well. It could also be that specialty fasteners have to keep some very key components up and running.

In this lovely ode to the bolt, we learn of the journey in paperwork of some key bolts that hold the wings to aircraft. In the example, the bolts cost $2,300, but most of that is paperwork, not steel. And indeed, a bolt is an instrument of trust, and inspecting costs can easily outpace the costs as expressed in titanium and steel in our industry as well. Key bolts for aircraft of, dare I say it, helicopters and their all important Jesus nut, are examples of trust in the process turned into a thing. So the humble fastener is in fact not so humble.

Throughout the many vehicles and weapons the US military has, there are a lot of fasteners. There is a lot of potential in making material and components for just fasteners in the years to come. The parts will be made in Virginia at the company’s Titanium Manufacturing Campus, and the contract can run for up to five years.

IperionX CEO Anastasios Arima said,

“Securing this Phase III contract is a pivotal milestone for IperionX. It validates the performance of our technologies and underscores the Department of Defense’s commitment to reshore an all-American titanium supply chain. We look forward to delivering mission-critical components that are lighter, stronger and more cost-effective while reducing reliance on international supply chains.”

IperionX’s importance has surged with newfound worries about global supply chains. The US in particular is feeling isolated, and indeed isolating itself. Specifically, the US DoD supply chain looks vulnerable. It will be hard for the US to manufacture things all by itself at the scale and quality it needs. As planes, tanks, and everything else become more advanced, they will contain more parts, more precision, more materials, and more complexity generally. That exacerbates the problem. Being able to make reliable components from US materials is therefore a very important thing for the country. So IperionX’s mission therefore is much elevated. Along with 6K, Metal Powder Works, and others, they are looking at a potentially strategic long-term role at the very center of materials management for the DoD. That is a role that not only looks increasingly important but also potentially lucrative as well.