The Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) has awarded a contract to Terves LLC, a subsidiary of REalloys Inc. (NASDAQ: ALOY), to scale domestic production of Samarium (Sm) and Gadolinium (Gd) metals, addressing a critical national security vulnerability. The U.S. currently relies 100% on foreign adversaries for these metals, which are essential for high-temperature samarium-cobalt magnets, precision guidance systems, aerospace components, and nuclear reactor safety rods.
The contract, issued under topic DLA212-004, supports REalloys' proprietary metallothermal processing technology, including a zero-waste rare earth metallization platform. This technology enables direct reduction of Samarium-Europium-Gadolinium (SEG) feedstocks into high-purity metals, bypassing traditional capital-intensive solvent extraction methods. REalloys aims to reduce production costs by up to 50% and deploy modular reactors that can be rapidly scaled.
A central deliverable is the engineering design for a 300 ton/year production facility, which can be replicated to meet both steady-state and surge demand from the Department of War and commercial markets. REalloys has also filed a provisional patent covering its direct reduction and zero-waste processes, reinforcing its proprietary position.
The DLA manages the global supply chain for the Department of War, NASA, and other agencies through its Strategic Materials division, which oversees the National Defense Stockpile. This contract directly addresses the strategic gap in U.S. supply of Sm and Gd metals, which have no substitutes in extreme environments. Samarium-cobalt magnets are the only magnetic materials capable of withstanding fighter jet engine heat and supersonic friction, while Gadolinium is used in stealth radar and nuclear reactor control rods.
REalloys' approach is differentiated by its modular, semi-continuous processing architecture, which enables rapid deployment and distributed domestic production. The company believes this contract validates its ability to close a long-standing bottleneck in U.S. samarium supply and establish a sovereign source for these critical materials. For more information, visit www.realloys.com.
