MARION, Ind. - The Department of Defense (DoD) announced it is investing $25 million to expand domestic refining capacity for rare earth elements and other defense-critical minerals, addressing a supply chain challenge that affects technologies used across modern military and aerospace systems.
The investment with ReElement Technologies Corp. will support expansion of the company’s refining capabilities at its Marion, Ind., facility. According to the DoD, funding will support equipment, installation, and working capital to expand production lines focused on processing end-of-life magnets and other recycled materials into high-purity rare earth oxides and other critical materials.
While access to mineral resources is an important part of the critical-materials supply chain, refining and separation pose significant industrial challenges. Rare earth elements often occur together and require specialized processing before they can be incorporated into components used by defense and aerospace manufacturers.
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ReElement is developing a refining approach based on chromatography-based purification and separation technology. The company says its platform uses modular processing columns that can be scaled to production requirements and deployed in smaller facilities than traditional large-scale refining operations.
The company’s technology is also designed to process multiple feedstocks, including recycled materials from end-of-life magnets. This approach could support greater supply-chain flexibility by enabling recovery of critical materials from existing products in addition to processing newly sourced materials.
Materials behind advanced defense technologies
Rare earth materials are used in high-performance permanent magnets that enable compact, high-power electric motors and actuators. These components are found in a range of applications, including aircraft systems, uncrewed platforms, precision-guided systems, and other electromechanical technologies.
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Other materials targeted by the DoD investment include gallium and germanium. Gallium-based semiconductor materials, including gallium nitride and gallium arsenide, are used in applications such as radar, electronic warfare, and communications systems. Germanium is used in applications including infrared optics, fiber-optic systems, and specialized semiconductor technologies.
As military systems incorporate increasing levels of sensing, autonomy, communications, and electronic capabilities, reliable access to the materials behind those technologies has become a growing concern for the industrial base.
A potential shift toward distributed refining
ReElement’s refining technology originated from research conducted at Purdue University focused on chromatography-based purification and separation methods. The company later commercialized the technology for critical-mineral processing applications.
The company says its platform can be expanded by adding additional purification columns, allowing processing capacity to scale with demand. ReElement also says the system’s smaller footprint could enable deployment closer to mineral sources, recycling operations, or manufacturing facilities.
Distributed refining could offer another option to strengthen supply-chain resilience by reducing dependence on a limited number of large processing facilities.
Expanding domestic critical-mineral capacity requires more than refining capability alone. A resilient supply chain also requires reliable sources of raw materials, manufacturing capacity for components, qualified suppliers, and integration into defense production programs.
The DoD investment is part of a broader effort to strengthen the industrial base supporting advanced military systems. As defense platforms increasingly depend on sophisticated electronics, sensors, communications equipment, and power systems, ensuring access to the materials behind those technologies has become a strategic priority.
