Construction at South Boston recycled titanium facility is almost complete

IperionX, the first manufacturer of completely recycled titanium in the country , is in the home stretch of renovations at the former shell building in Halifax County where it will operate a demonstration facility, and the first recycled titanium powder is expected in the coming months.

This is a slight delay from the original timetable; the company initially announced that it would be operational by the first quarter of the year.

IperionX did not respond to questions about the facility or the change in schedule.

Progress at the site has been “fast and furious” since the September 2022 announcement that the company would locate in the county’s Southern Virginia Technology Park, said Kristy Johnson, executive director of the county’s Industrial Development Authority.

“We’ve finished the design and engineering for the shell building upfit,” she said. “That construction is well underway and nearly complete.”

IperionX Ltd., based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a critical minerals company founded in 2020 that has said it will make an $82.1 million investment in Halifax and bring 108 jobs to the area.

IperionX is the only manufacturer in the country that uses 100% titanium scrap as feedstock for titanium alloys.

The company has said it wants to reduce the reliance on foreign nations for titanium and build a domestic supply chain for the industries that use titanium, including aerospace, space, medical, consumer electronics, defense, additive manufacturing, hydrogen and automotive.

IperionX already does this on a small scale at a facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. But at the South Boston facility, the company plans to launch the same process at about 50 times the Utah scale.

Having the shell building available was a crucial factor in the company choosing Halifax County, Johnson said in 2023.

The 50,000-square-foot space was essentially just walls and a ceiling before renovations began, she said in a recent interview. The building needed plumbing and electrical infrastructure, as well as a layout of the titanium production area, office space, bathrooms and break rooms.

There were no major surprises during this work, and no setbacks or cost overages due to the pandemic, she said.

IperionX received a $12.7 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense through the Defense Production Act Investment program in November 2023. The funding helped the company scale up the facility to a demonstration plant, which will be used to validate industrial processes for commercialization. This is usually the last step in the research and development process.

That same month, the Halifax IDA leased a second building in the technology park to IperionX.

“While working on this construction project for the shell building, we identified that they had a more immediate need for office and R&D space, and we had an available building,” Johnson said. “They have their home base stationed there while they finish construction on the shell building.”

In addition to research and development, IperionX plans to use the second facility as an advanced manufacturing center, and to prototype products, according to a November release from the Halifax IDA.

According to a first-quarter report from IperionX, the upfitting for the advanced manufacturing center is complete and equipment is now being commissioned. Manufacturing of advanced titanium products is expected to begin during the second quarter of 2024, the report said.

This new facility will complement the demonstration facility in the former shell building, the Halifax release said.

When IperionX announced its presence in Halifax, it credited the local leadership and the community as a large draw to the area. The company chose the South Boston location from over 100 sites in 30 states.

In addition to local leadership, support on the state level was also a beneficial factor, IperionX CEO Taso Arima said in a 2023 interview.

“We had very strong support from Governor [Glenn] Youngkin, very strong support from Senator [Mark] Warner and Senator [Tim] Kaine,” Arima said. “Being our first facility, we wanted to minimize the risk of not having the right people.”

So far, and even though it is not yet fully operational, IperionX has had a positive impact on the community, Johnson said, mentioning donations to organizations like the local YMCA.

“They’ve got folks moving here every single day, and they’re beginning to hire local folks as well,” she said. “It’s a very positive relationship thus far.”

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