- Carver has been a leading American manufacturer of specialized
high performance centrifugal pumps since 1938, and has been a
supplier to every major U.S. Navy shipbuilding program for the past
60 years.
- Titanium is prized by the U.S. Navy for its exceptional
corrosion resistance and is used extensively across all major pump
applications, with titanium components typically manufactured via
titanium casting methods.
- Many titanium casting operations in the U.S. have closed, and
castings for pumps are currently sourced through an insecure supply
chain constrained by higher costs, long lead times, and foreign
control.
- IperionX will use titanium scrap sourced domestically,
including from the U.S. Navy, to recycle into high quality titanium
to additively manufacture prototype titanium pump components.
Carver Pump will lead the qualification of these new titanium
components for use by the U.S. Navy.
- The Governor of Virginia and the U.S. Navy have expressed
significant support for IperionX to sustainably re-shore the U.S.
titanium supply chain which can reduce lead times, lower costs, and
reduce carbon emissions.
- IperionX’s planned Titanium Demonstration Facility in South
Boston, VA is uniquely positioned to support the U.S. Navy located
within 3 hours from the major U.S. Navy shipbuilding center of
Norfolk, VA and just 25 miles from the U.S. Navy’s recently opened
‘Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence’ in Danville, VA.
IperionX Limited (“IperionX”) (NASDAQ: IPX, ASX: IPX) is
pleased to announce that it has partnered with Carver Pump
(“Carver”) to use IperionX’s patented and award-winning titanium
technologies to additively manufacture titanium pump components for
the U.S. Navy. Carver will design the titanium pump components,
guide IperionX on prototyping, and lead the qualification of these
titanium pump components for the U.S. Navy.
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Titanium primary metal refining capacity
(titanium sponge) controlled by China and Russia with ~70% of
global production in 2022 (Graphic: Business Wire)
Carver is the leading American designer and manufacturer of
high-performance centrifugal pumps that have been used in every
major U.S. Navy shipbuilding program for the past 60 years. The
U.S. Navy prizes titanium pumps for their exceptional corrosion
resistance, and they are used across a wide range of naval
applications including fire suppression, seawater cooling, main
propulsion seawater, bilge, and desalination.
The U.S. has no domestic capacity to manufacture the large
titanium castings required for high performance centrifugal pumps,
and this has led to long lead times for new pump components sourced
from a foreign controlled supply chain that exploits high cost and
carbon intensive titanium metal.
IperionX’s lower cost, lower carbon, U.S. titanium powders can
be used to additively manufacture these specialized titanium pump
components, and this provides the U.S. Navy with the capability to
significantly reduce lead times for critical parts, increase
equipment availability, and sustainably re-shore a critical U.S.
titanium metal supply chain.
The U.S. Navy’s, Naval Sea Systems Command (“NAVSEA”) has
developed additive manufacturing processes for over 500 approved
parts used in U.S. ships and submarines. The Governor of Virginia
and the U.S. Navy are accelerating efforts to scale additive
manufacturing, having recently opened the ‘Additive Manufacturing
Center of Excellence’ in Danville, VA, located just 25 miles from
the site of IperionX’s new Titanium Demonstration Facility in South
Boston, VA.
Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia said:
“In just four months, we’ve seen dynamic progress from IperionX.
As they continue to develop synergies with Carver Pump and the U.S.
Navy using 100% recycled titanium scrap as feedstock which will
soon be produced in Halifax County, we look forward to seeing
IperionX’s continued growth and success. This puts Virginia on the
map for providing a critical material that is essential for our
advanced industries including those exhibited just down the road at
the U.S. Navy’s Additive Manufacturing Center of Excellence.”
High-performance pumps require high-performance
materials
The U.S. Navy prizes titanium centrifugal pumps for their
exceptional corrosion resistance, performance, and longevity in
demanding naval applications. These pumps are critical for fire
suppression, seawater cooling, radar and electronics cooling, main
propulsion seawater, bilge, and desalination.
Carver has been providing high performance centrifugal pumps to
the U.S. Navy since World War II. Carver pumps are installed on all
current Navy ship building programs, including Ford Carriers,
Zumwalt Destroyers, Aegis Destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships,
America Big Deck Amphibious Assault Ships, San Antonio Amphibious
Transport Docks, and Virginia Submarines.
High performance titanium pump components are mostly produced
via titanium casting, a very high-cost manufacturing method which
can present significant problems due to two key factors: titanium’s
high melting point (1,670 °C) and high reactivity with oxygen.
Therefore, to avoid unwanted reactivity, the specialized vacuum
melting of titanium and then pouring into specially designed
ceramic molds is required.
The U.S. no longer has the domestic capacity to produce large
high performance titanium castings, with the key foreign suppliers
now based in China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Norway. China
and Russia are the only countries that have fully integrated
primary titanium metal production and large titanium casting
capabilities, which places them in a superior competitive position.
The United Kingdom and Norway are fully reliant on importing their
primary titanium metal feedstock for casting production from
foreign sources that use the high cost and carbon intensive Kroll
titanium production process.
The U.S. has limited domestic production capacity for primary
titanium metal (titanium sponge) and is mostly import reliant after
Timet’s ‘Kroll’ titanium plant in Nevada closed in 2020. The global
titanium supply chain is highly concentrated and dominated by China
and Russia who now control over 70% of global metal production
capacity. Given the lack of domestic titanium production capacity,
and that the U.S. no longer maintains titanium sponge in the
National Defense Stockpile, downstream titanium producers,
including producers of goods such as ingot, billet, sheet, coil,
and tube, are almost entirely dependent on foreign sources of
titanium.
IperionX’s patented technologies offer a pathway to lower cost,
lower carbon, U.S. manufactured titanium components across a range
of important industries including defense, aerospace, automotive,
and consumer electronics. These patented titanium technologies can
upcycle low-grade, high oxygen, out-of-specification titanium scrap
metal to produce titanium metal that meets or exceeds industry
standards.
IperionX is currently producing high quality titanium metal
powders from 100% recycled titanium feedstocks for customer
qualification at its titanium production pilot facility in Utah.
This titanium production facility has achieved processing yields
approaching 100% from low-grade scrap without the need for blending
with high-grade primary titanium metal.
IperionX will re-shore a critical U.S. titanium supply
chain
IperionX has successfully engaged with the U.S. Navy to detail
the Company’s plans to sustainably re-shore the U.S. titanium
supply chain, that aims to reduce critical titanium component lead
times, lower costs, and reduce carbon emissions.
These discussions involved senior leadership in the U.S. Navy’s
NAVSEA, including the Office of the Chief Engineer for Ship Design,
Integration and Naval Engineering, the Shipbuilding Industrial Base
Task Force and Program Executive Office – Strategic Submarines.
IperionX has also been in discussions with the U.S. Defense
Logistics Agency Strategic Materials agency on the potential for
recycling titanium scrap inventory for use across the Defense
Industrial Base. In addition, IperionX is collaborating with Naval
Air Systems Command to produce flight critical 3D printed titanium
components for Navy aircraft. These discussions build upon IperionX
successfully winning the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory's
titanium recycling Grand Challenge and highlights the importance of
sustainably re-shoring a U.S. titanium supply chain for domestic
and allied defense industries.
The U.S. Navy’s NAVSEA has publicly stated targets to develop
technical standards for additive manufactured components to
increase operational readiness. These aim to manufacture obsolete
and long-lead time components, and also enhance defense
capabilities by manufacturing unique component designs not
otherwise possible. Importantly, the current lead time for large,
specialized titanium castings is approximately 1-2 years, compared
to just 1-3 months when manufactured with titanium powders via
additive manufacturing. IperionX’s patented technologies can
recycle end-of-life titanium components into high quality titanium
metal that can then be manufactured into new mission critical
titanium parts on short timeframes.
Andrew Carver, Carver CEO said:
“We are delighted to be working with IperionX to help introduce
domestic sourced, 100% recycled titanium into the U.S. Navy’s
supply chain. When coupled with benefits of additive manufacturing,
the partnership provides a significant potential to benefit to Navy
operations through the rapid production of complex, operation
critical titanium parts, providing a potential reduction in lead
times and increasing equipment availability.
We see this partnership as the first step in a larger
relationship focused on both Navy surface ships as well as new
parts for other marine applications.”
Anastasios (Taso) Arima, IperionX CEO said:
“Our partnership with Carver is another important milestone for
the rapid commercialization of IperionX’s breakthrough titanium
technologies.
These patented technologies can efficiently recycle domestic
titanium scrap metal at lower cost than existing processes, and
this high-quality titanium metal can be used for a range of
manufacturing technologies, including additive manufacturing. We
look forward to working closely with Carver to rapidly prototype
and deploy titanium components for a wide range of centrifugal pump
applications in U.S. Navy platforms.”
About IperionX
IperionX’s mission is to be the leading developer of low carbon
titanium for advanced industries including space, aerospace,
electric vehicles, and 3D printing. IperionX’s breakthrough
titanium technologies can produce titanium products that are low
carbon and fully circular, and were developed by Dr. Zak Fang, an
American Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at the University
of Utah. IperionX is producing titanium metal powders from titanium
scrap at its operational pilot facility in Utah and intends to
scale production at a Titanium Demonstration Facility in Virginia.
IperionX holds a 100% interest in the critical minerals Titan
Project, which has the largest JORC resource of titanium, rare
earth and zircon rich mineral sands in the U.S.A.
About Carver
Carver built their first pumps in 1938, and the Carver name has
become synonymous with value. Carver Pumps are recognized as one of
the world’s leading centrifugal pump companies, building pumps to
the most demanding engineering specifications and military
standards in the world. Carver Pump is headquartered in Muscatine,
Iowa, where our pumps are engineered and manufactured. A
third-generation family ownership and commitment to American
manufacturing give our customers, partners and employees
confidence.
Forward Looking Statements
Information included in this release
constitutes forward-looking statements. Often, but not always,
forward looking statements can generally be identified by the use
of forward-looking words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”,
“plan”, “estimate”, “anticipate”, “continue”, and “guidance”, or
other similar words and may include, without limitation, statements
regarding plans, strategies and objectives of management,
anticipated production or construction commencement dates and
expected costs or production outputs.
Forward looking statements inherently involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may
cause the Company’s actual results, performance, and achievements
to differ materially from any future results, performance, or
achievements. Relevant factors may include, but are not limited to,
changes in commodity prices, foreign exchange fluctuations and
general economic conditions, increased costs and demand for
production inputs, the speculative nature of exploration and
project development, including the risks of obtaining necessary
licenses and permits and diminishing quantities or grades of
reserves, the Company’s ability to comply with the relevant
contractual terms to access the technologies, commercially scale
its closed-loop titanium production processes, or protect its
intellectual property rights, political and social risks, changes
to the regulatory framework within which the Company operates or
may in the future operate, environmental conditions including
extreme weather conditions, recruitment and retention of personnel,
industrial relations issues and litigation.
Forward looking statements are based on the
Company and its management’s good faith assumptions relating to the
financial, market, regulatory and other relevant environments that
will exist and affect the Company’s business and operations in the
future. The Company does not give any assurance that the
assumptions on which forward looking statements are based will
prove to be correct, or that the Company’s business or operations
will not be affected in any material manner by these or other
factors not foreseen or foreseeable by the Company or management or
beyond the Company’s control.
Although the Company attempts and has attempted
to identify factors that would cause actual actions, events or
results to differ materially from those disclosed in forward
looking statements, there may be other factors that could cause
actual results, performance, achievements, or events not to be as
anticipated, estimated or intended, and many events are beyond the
reasonable control of the Company. Accordingly, readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward looking
statements. Forward looking statements in these materials speak
only at the date of issue. Subject to any continuing obligations
under applicable law or any relevant stock exchange listing rules,
in providing this information the Company does not undertake any
obligation to publicly update or revise any of the forward-looking
statements or to advise of any change in events, conditions or
circumstances on which any such statement is based.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230206005244/en/
Anastasios (Taso) Arima, Founder and CEO Dominic Allen, Chief
Commercial Officer Investors: investorrelations@iperionx.com Media:
media@iperionx.com
+1 980 237 8900
www.iperionx.com
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