Latest Army Award Expands IperionX Titanium Production Capacity

The US Army has issued a second task order to IperionX under its existing $99 million SBIR Phase III contract, committing $11.5 million in immediate funding to expand the company’s titanium powder-to-part manufacturing capacity at its Virginia facility. The award advances IperionX’s role in building a domestic titanium manufacturing capability that reduces reliance on foreign feedstocks and external finishing suppliers. Designated W911QX26FA097 and issued by US Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, the task order carries a stated base value of $18.5 million on a firm-fixed-price basis. Of that, $11.5 million is currently funded and obligated across three fully covered work packages and a partial allotment to a fourth. An additional $6.9 million in unexercised and unfunded options could push the maximum potential value to $25.4 million, subject to US Government discretion. The period of performance runs from August 28, 2026 to August 27, 2030. Together, Task Orders 1 and 2 carry an aggregate stated value of approximately $19.8 million, leaving $79.2 million still available under the $99 million IDIQ ceiling. Funding Targets Production-Scale Equipment Three of the four base work packages are fully funded. The largest, at $7.1 million, funds industrial-scale continuous furnaces for HSPT processing and dehydrogenation, intended to produce titanium track pins and bolts at production scale for Army ground-combat applications. Inspection and acceptance are planned at Detroit Arsenal in Michigan. A separate $3.4 million package funds a smaller continuous HSPT furnace to demonstrate repeatable processing of titanium bolts and evaluate unit costs against Army requirements. A third package, at $1 million, funds centerless grinding and thread-rolling equipment at the Virginia facility to bring fastener finishing in-house. The fourth base package, also priced at $7.1 million, covers industrial-scale batch HSPT and dehydrogenation furnaces but currently has only $100,000 allotted. The remaining scope is unfunded and contingent on additional government authorization. IperionX’s manufacturing platform rests on two linked proprietary processes. HAMR converts titanium scrap or mineral feedstocks into low-oxygen titanium powder. HSPT then consolidates that powder into near-net-shape components with a wrought-like microstructure. Currently both processes run in batch mode. The funding under Task Order 2 is aimed at transitioning HSPT to continuous operation. The program is designed to increase throughput, improve process consistency, and reduce unit costs at scale. On the powder production side, IperionX is separately developing GenX, a next-generation continuous HAMR platform, though that program is not funded under this task order. Bringing fastener finishing in-house addresses a specific bottleneck. Until now, IperionX has relied on external suppliers for centerless grinding and thread rolling. The new equipment is expected to give the company greater control over production schedules, quality, and cost, while shortening lead times and retaining more of the fastener value chain within its Virginia facility. The $6.9 million in option line items, if exercised and funded, would extend IperionX’s technology platform into two adjacent areas. One covers aerospace-grade titanium components, where a $1 million option would fund a demonstration combining binder-jet printing with HSPT for an unnamed leading global aerospace and defense supplier. The other covers refractory metals, where three options totaling $5.9 million, developed with Global Advanced Metals and an unnamed large advanced materials company, target C103 alloy scrap recycling, niobium reduction, powder spheroidization, and scaled refractory powder production. C103 is a niobium-hafnium-titanium alloy used in rocket engine thrust chambers, spacecraft reaction-control systems, and hypersonic propulsion. Its adoption in additive manufacturing depends on access to tightly specified, low-oxygen powder, which is currently in limited and costly supply. The option workstreams, if funded, would establish a domestic pathway spanning C103 scrap recycling through to spherical powder production, though all four options remain unexercised and are subject to additional funding, technical validation, and customer qualification. Task Order 2 is not the only government funding IperionX is drawing on. The company has separately received $59.8 million in fully obligated reimbursable funding under the Defense Production Act Title III and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment programs, aimed at expanding domestic titanium production capacity. The Army has also transferred approximately 290 metric tons of titanium alloy scrap to IperionX at no cost, providing a domestic feedstock base for recycled titanium production. Task Order 1, valued at $1.3 million, initiated the development of low-cost American titanium components for defense applications. The task order can be terminated, in whole or in part, by the US Government at any time and at its discretion. Domestic Feedstock and Qualification Constraints The federal push to fund domestic titanium and refractory metal processing extends beyond IperionX. In April 2026, 6K Additive received a roughly $2 million Phase II contract to recover and repurpose titanium, niobium, tungsten, and nickel scrap from US military depots into high-grade powders for defense applications. The program addresses a domestic feedstock constraint by converting scrap from US military sites into powders that can be tested against requirements for conventionally sourced virgin metals. The qualification barrier facing any domestic C103 powder program is also visible elsewhere. In July 2025, Velo3D and Amaero advanced qualification of C103 niobium powder through Auburn University’s National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence, demonstrating conformance with ASTM F3635 Class B and AMS7015 standards, with over 1,000 kg scheduled for deployment in Velo3D’s Sapphire systems. The standards milestone was followed by system-specific validation and print testing, showing that material conformance alone does not complete the qualification process. For IperionX, this provides context for the additional technical validation and customer qualification that its unfunded C103 option workstreams would require before production use. Register now for AMA: Software 2026. Join 3D Printing Industry on 22 October for expert presentations, panel discussions and live audience Q&A exploring the software shaping additive manufacturing. Register here. 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