IperionX receives up to $6.6 million to expand additive titanium manufacturing for defense components in the US
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Originally reported by 3Druck
IperionX has secured up to $6.6 million in funding from the US Office of the Secretary of War’s submarine workforce and industrial base program to scale titanium production at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia. The award specifically targets production of ballistic-resistant titanium plates and large-format components for defense platforms, using IperionX’s proprietary HAMR, HSPT, and THRM powder-based process chain. The company is also executing a prototype order for titanium fasteners for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV). Validation work is being conducted jointly with the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex and the Army Research Laboratory, covering ballistic properties, shock resistance, and military transfer pathways.
This award sits at the intersection of two powerful market forces: the US defense sector’s politically accelerated push for domestic titanium supply chains, and the growing recognition that powder-based titanium production can bypass the traditional energy-intensive sponge-to-plate route. IperionX’s approach - converting mineral or recycled titanium directly into powder, then into near-net-shape plate or components via additive and powder metallurgy - directly addresses the US military’s need to reduce vehicle weight while maintaining ballistic protection. The JLTV fastener order is a concrete signal that the company is moving beyond material qualification into component-level procurement, a critical step in embedding itself into defense program supply chains. The partnership with the Army Research Laboratory and the Bush Combat Development Complex provides the qualification infrastructure that defense buyers require before committing to production-scale orders.
For IperionX, the practical challenge now is scaling HAMR and HSPT from pilot volumes to the tonnage levels that defense programs demand, while maintaining the forged-equivalent mechanical properties that military specifications require. The JLTV fastener order is a useful but small first step - the company must demonstrate repeatable production at defense-relevant quantities before this funding translates into sustained revenue. The US defense market is becoming more domestically biased, but that protection does not automatically confer production readiness.
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