The U.S. Department of Defense has selected 6K Additive, LLC for a $23.4 million award to deepen its waste and scrap metal upcycling capabilities.
With the funding, 6K Additive will upgrade facilities, acquire and install equipment and conduct engineering activities to support the conversion of these materials into high grade metals for both defense and commercial supply chains, the DOD announced on Tuesday.
“U.S. dependency on foreign sources for specialty metals presents a significant risk to national security. 6K’s products will feed supply chains that form the basis of our military’s core warfighting capabilities,” said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy.
Contracting responsibilities are expected to increase the production capacity for metals such as titanium, niobium, nickel and tungsten, which are used in alloys for aircraft structural components, turbine engine blades, rocket engines and radar systems, among other defense technologies.
6K Additive uses domestic sources of metal feedstock, including end-of-life components, machine shop waste and scrap from manufacturing processes like casting and forging, for its upcycling activities.
The award was issued through the Defense Production Act Investment Program, which has funded $735 million in awards this year.