The Department of Defense announced a $4.22 million award to Rare Earth Salts in Beatrice, Nebraska, for developing and expanding the production of terbium oxide from recycled fluorescent light bulbs. Terbium is an essential element for rare earth magnets used in many key defense systems. This effort is funded through the Defense Production Act Investment (DPAI) office and aligns with the National Defense Industrial Strategy's priority of increasing supply chain resilience by expanding domestic production and sustainment of critical materials.
"This award adds a domestic source for one of the most difficult-to-obtain rare earth elements," said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (ASD(IBP)). "Rare Earth Salts' capability will help the United States establish a mine-to-magnet supply chain without reliance on foreign sources of material."
Terbium enhances temperature resiliency in neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) magnets used in multiple key defense systems, including aircraft, submarines, and missiles. Making up less than 1% of the total rare earth content in most deposits, it is one of the hardest elements to source. Rare Earth Salts is uniquely positioned as one of the only terbium oxide producers outside China and uses environmentally conscious recycling processes. As co-products, the company will also recover lanthanum, cerium, europium, and yttrium—each with applications in commercial industry and defense.
The DPAI office has issued more than 50 program awards in FY2024 across multiple areas, totaling $518.7 million. DPAI is overseen by ASD(IBP)'s Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) directorate within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Resilience.
For more information on MCEIP, please visit: https://www.businessdefense.gov/ibr/mceip/index.html
About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP))
The OASD(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling warfighters now and in the future. OASD(IBP) released its first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) in January and recently published the NDIS Interim Implementation Report. The NDIS and Interim Implementation Report can be accessed at https://www.businessdefense.gov/NDIS.html.
