On Nov. 3, Vulcan Elements, a Durham-based start-up specializing in rare-earth minerals, announced a $1.4 billion partnership with the US government. The investments will fund the construction, commission, and operation of a 10,000 metric ton magnet facility.
“This is more crony capitalism, where taxpayer dollars are used to benefit politically connected corporations,” Brian Balfour, VP of research at the John Locke Foundation, told the Carolina Journal. “Government should not be involved in ‘investing’ in businesses; such a practice resembles central planning. Business investment should be made by voluntary investors in the private sector.”
Vulcan Elements, in partnership with ReElement Technologies, will scale its 100% vertically integrated, domestic magnet supply chain, already in operation, to produce 10,000 tons of magnets annually, with a focus on recycling end-of-life magnets and electronic waste, according to a press release.
The expansion of the production capacity will be funded in part by a $620 million loan from the US Department of War’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) and a $50 million investment from the US Department of Commerce under the CHIPS and Science Act. The company also received an additional $550 million in private investments. Funding for these OSC loans comes from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump in July 2025.
“Our investment in Vulcan Elements will accelerate US production of rare-earth magnets for American manufacturers,” said Howard Lutnick, US Secretary of Commerce, in a press release. “We are laser-focused on bringing critical mineral and rare-earth manufacturing back home, ensuring America’s supply chain is strong, secure and perfectly reliable.”
The expansion of ReElement’s recycling and processing capabilities is being funded by an $80 million loan from OSC, which private investments will match. The US Department of Commerce will receive $50 million in equity in Vulcan.
Vulcan and ReElement collaborate to manage the entire magnetic supply chain, from start to finish. ReElement processes end-of-life magnets, electronic waste, and mined concentrates into high-purity rare-earth oxides. Vulcan then converts these oxides into high-purity rare-earth metals and manufactures finished rare-earth magnets. Vulcan’s products have been independently validated to meet the highest performance standards, and its magnets are already in use across critical defense and technology sectors.
“ReElement Technologies and Vulcan Elements are natural partners,” Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies, said in a press release. “Our capabilities are innovative and proven. Our teams draw on the best talent across government and industry. And our companies already have a deep record of principles-based collaboration. With support from the United States Government, we are positioned to become a solution that secures America’s fundamental supply chains.”
The partnership between Vulcan and ReElement has created a US supply chain that delivers end-to-end with speed, certainty, and scale to customers, providing security and resilience, according to the press release.
“As a former Navy officer, I am honored by the trust that the American government and American people have placed in Vulcan Elements,” John Maslin, CEO of Vulcan Elements, said in a press release. “Now more than ever, we remain focused on execution and performance, so that we can deliver a capability that the nation urgently needs. Vulcan Elements and ReElement Technologies already have a record of strong collaboration, and I look forward to continuing to work together as we move forward into this next phase of our partnership.”
Vulcan is engaged in discussions with the OSC and the Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Program Office to finalize diligence requirements.
ReElement Technologies is a US refiner of rare-earth and critical minerals that transforms end-of-life magnets, electronic waste, and mined concentrates into high-purity, separated rare earth oxides.
Vulcan Elements manufactures sintered, permanent neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets in the United States for critical defense and commercial applications. The company also produces high-purity rare-earth metals in its commercial facility.