| Charlotte-based titanium supplier IperionX says it’s gotten a federal contract that will enable the U.S. Department of Defense to buy up to $99 million of its titanium components and parts.
The Small Business Innovation Research Phase III grant is a Small Business Administration-run offering meant to help firms commercialize their wares.
The company says it’s already working with the various arms of DOD on “project task orders that will draw down on the contract ceiling.” It expects purchases to focus initially on the acquisition of titanium fasteners, and plans to make them at a factory in Virginia.
Future deals may involve “higher-value aerospace components,” the company says.
“Securing this Phase III contract is a pivotal milestone for IperionX,” said CEO Taso Arima, who joined IberianX in 2020 after a stint leading Piedmont Lithium. “It validates the performance of our technologies and underscores the Department of Defense’s commitment to re-shore 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.”
Founded in Perth, Australia, in 2017, IperionX has set up a “Titanium Manufacturing Campus” in Virginia’s South Boston area, close to the N.C. state line.
It also has a pilot plant near Salt Lake City, and a prospective titanium mine in western Tennessee.
The company sees a business opportunity in countering Russian and Chinese domination of the global supply chain for titanium, a lightweight metal whose strength find uses in aviation and other high-tech sectors.
“Today the United States has limited domestic primary titanium metal (titanium sponge) production capacity and currently imports over 95% of the titanium sponge required for its advanced industries,” IperionX told investors last October. “We plan to re-shore titanium metal production, thereby reducing America’s acute reliance on primary titanium imports and strengthening the domestic titanium supply chain.”
Customers include Ford Motor, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army, it reported.
The company booked a $21.8 million net loss in fiscal 2023-24.
Shares closed at $28.32 Monday and have gained 81% in the past year. The company went public in 2022 at about $6. The market cap is about $930 million. |
