IperionX (ASX:IPX) has received up to US$6.6 million ($9.57 million) from the Office of the Secretary of War Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base program to scale ballistic-grade titanium plate production.
The award forms part of a larger, multi-organisation program to scale domestic production of high-performance titanium alloy products for maritime and land defence platforms.
The company will collaborate with the George HW Bush Combat Development Complex and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory to accelerate product scale-up and validation.
Funding will support capital equipment at IperionX’s Titanium Manufacturing Campus in Virginia, US, expanding manufacturing capabilities for large-format titanium components.
The program will be completed in two phases, with phase one providing US$200,000 for project scoping and test work. Upon successful completion, IperionX expects to receive a further US$6.4 million to scale manufacturing capacity and purchase capital equipment.
The multi-organisation defence program will focus on titanium mill products and components for platforms requiring exceptional strength-to-weight performance, corrosion resistance, durability, ballistic impact tolerance, and shock survivability.
CEO Taso Arima says the award validates IperionX’s strategy for scaling its titanium manufacturing capacity in the US.
“By combining lower-cost titanium feedstocks with our patented HAMR (hydrogen assisted metallothermic reduction), HSPT (hydrogen sintering and phase transformation), and THRM (thermo-hydrogen refinement of microstructure) technologies, we are developing a more efficient domestic manufacturing platform for high-performance titanium plates and components.”
The company’s titanium technologies are designed to simplify and shorten conventional production routes. IperionX’s proprietary HAMR process can produce low-cost titanium powder from titanium minerals or recycled titanium, while its HSPT and THRM technologies deliver high-performance, wrought-like titanium properties without reliance on the full conventional melt-remelt-forge pathway.
Through this program, IperionX will produce and evaluate titanium alloy products for use as lightweight alternatives to steel, including armour precursor plate, hatches, covers, brackets, structural components, and maritime systems.
The company has also received a purchase order from the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center to produce prototype titanium fasteners for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle and its associated trailer to support US Army and Marine Corps operational requirements.
While the value of the initial purchase order is not considered material, a successful prototyping program has the potential to progress into an accelerated rollout program across a large number of ground vehicles.
IperionX Senior Adviser US Army Lieutenant General Ross Coffman says the Army has a pressing need to reduce the weight of ground vehicle platforms to maintain combat effectiveness.
“The benefits of titanium across all defence mobility platforms, including robotics, are well known and I’m proud to be on this mission with IperionX,” Coffman says.
The project will study how THRM and HSPT microstructural engineering can be used to achieve ballistic performance. It complements separately funded IperionX programs for powder-to-plate production and provides an alternative pathway that has the potential to reduce US dependency on imported titanium sponge.
The two phases of the project are scheduled to be complete within two years.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
Images: IperionX
