The Defense Logistics Agency has awarded a contract to Terves LLC, a subsidiary of REalloys Inc., to scale next-generation metallothermal processes for samarium and gadolinium metals. This contract represents a significant step toward establishing domestic production capabilities for materials that are currently 100% sourced from foreign suppliers, many of which are considered adversaries of the United States.
Samarium and gadolinium metals serve as essential inputs for numerous defense and dual-use technologies. These include high-temperature samarium-cobalt permanent magnets used in fighter jet engines and precision-guided munitions, precision guidance systems, aerospace and radar applications, advanced optics, and nuclear reactor safety control rods. These materials must operate in extreme thermal and radiation environments where no substitutes exist.
The DLA contract advances REalloys' direct metallothermal processing platform, which includes revolutionary zero-waste rare earth metallization technology. The company has filed a provisional patent covering its direct reduction of Samarium-Europium-Gadolinium feedstocks and the zero-waste metallization process. This proprietary approach differs from conventional rare earth processing that typically relies on large, capital-intensive solvent extraction plants.
Instead, REalloys is developing a modular, semi-continuous processing architecture that enables direct reduction of SEG feedstocks into high-purity metals. Gadolinium metal is produced through low-temperature, zero-waste metallothermal reduction, including in alloyed forms such as Gadolinium-Cobalt. The company aims to reduce production costs by up to 50% compared to conventional methods while shortening deployment timelines.
A central deliverable of the DLA contract is the engineering design for a 300 ton per year production facility built around modular reactors that can be rapidly deployed, replicated, and scaled. This modular approach allows for distributed domestic production aligned with U.S. defense and industrial policy priorities, enabling response to both steady-state and surge demand from the Department of War and commercial markets.
The Defense Logistics Agency, as the nation's combat logistics support agency, manages the global supply chain for the Department of War, NASA, and numerous other government agencies. Through its DLA Strategic Materials division, the agency also manages the National Defense Stockpile, charged with securing domestic sources of rare earths to decrease reliance on foreign supply chains.
This contract addresses a long-standing bottleneck in U.S. samarium supply while advancing REalloys' gadolinium metallization capability. The company believes the award strengthens its proprietary technology and supports expansion of domestic production at a time when the Department of War continues to identify rare earth supply security as a strategic vulnerability.
Global supply of these metals remains almost entirely offshore, leaving U.S. defense and industrial users exposed to geopolitical risk, long lead times, and price volatility. By establishing sovereign production capacity, this initiative aims to close a strategic gap in the supply chain for materials that form the invisible backbone of America's most advanced defense platforms.
The implications extend beyond immediate defense applications to broader industrial and energy sectors. As the U.S. seeks to strengthen its critical minerals supply chains, this development represents progress toward reducing dependence on potentially hostile foreign sources for materials essential to national security and technological leadership. More information about the company is available at https://www.realloys.com.
