As I’ve noted more than once in recent months, 2025 was the year for critical minerals, and the U.S. additive manufacturing (AM) industry made the most of that. IperionX, the Charlotte-based titanium miner and processor, was a primary exemplar of that trend, and already in 2026, the company is illustrating why the year of critical minerals was likely just the starting point for the era of critical minerals.

American Rheinmetall, the Michigan-based Tier 1 supplier to the Pentagon (as well as the full range of other heavy industry verticals), has just placed a $300,000 purchase order with IperionX for over 700 prototype components for U.S. Army ground vehicle systems. While $300,000 may not knock your socks off, considering that IperionX received a Department of Defense (DoD) contract last year worth nearly $50 million, it’s worth keeping in mind that these sorts of low-volume initial contracts are typically the precursor to larger follow-up orders.

And, indeed, IperionX notes precisely that in its announcement of the American Rheinmetall order. IperionX also notes that the specific purpose of the ground vehicle components is lightweighting: according to the company, the titanium prototypes — intended as alternatives to steel counterparts — should result in a 40-45 percent weight reduction per unit compared to the parts they replace.

Further, in accordance with IperionX’s overall business model and core value propositions, the parts will be manufactured in the U.S. with 100 percent recycled feedstock. IperionX is among a number of emerging U.S. companies that are aiming to help the U.S. military augment its supply chain resilience by leveraging circular economics.

In a press release about IperionX’s $300,000 purchase order from American Rheinmetall for U.S. ground system prototypes, IperionX’s CEO, Taso Arima, said, “This purchase order demonstrates the practical application of IperionX’s recycled titanium technologies on important U.S. ground combat platforms. As the only domestic producer of commercial primary titanium, IperionX is uniquely positioned to support domestic defense priorities with secure, low-carbon, and cost-competitive titanium products manufactured entirely in the United States.”

The Pentagon is the first organization that essentially no one would think of in connection with the theme of sustainability. However, the present geopolitical environment has made the U.S. military’s need to lock down its own critical resource supply a strategic imperative, and the fact that U.S. strategic competitors have such singular control over global mineral supplies means that recycling has to be a key part of the DoD’s sourcing strategy going forward.

Intriguingly, IperionX also recently announced that the DoD gave the company nearly 300 tons of high-quality titanium scrap “free of charge“, which I’m assuming means that IperionX picked up the hauling costs — but still, that’s the definition of a win-win. Considering all of the scrap that the U.S. defense industrial base is sitting on, that formula could realistically change the entire U.S. metals supply chain if it eventually scales.

And, there’s already a mechanism that could help scale the concept, currently being floated by a bipartisan group of lawmakers: a $2.5 billion “independent agency” dedicated to building critical mineral stockpiles in the U.S. While there’s no specific mention yet that recycling will play a role in that agency, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect that it could be one of the options on the table.

In any case, there’s no shortage of pathways currently circulating for companies looking to form public-private partnerships centered around building strategic resource stockpiles. The AM industry will experience a monumental transformation if it can play even a small role in that growth trajectory.

Images courtesy of IperionX