Metallium flash joule heating partnership targets US gallium and scandium from red mud

Metallium

The Metallium ElementUSA partnership aims to unlock gallium and scandium supply inside the US. The companies will recover gallium and scandium recovery streams from alumina red mud in Louisiana. Therefore, the Metallium ElementUSA partnership positions red mud as a strategic critical minerals feedstock.

Metallium will deploy its flash joule heating technology at a demonstration facility ElementUSA is developing in Gramercy, Louisiana. The project targets gallium, scandium, and other critical minerals. Meanwhile, the work builds on growing pressure to diversify supply chains away from China.

DoD funding accelerates pilot work and scale-up options

US defense funding has moved the project into an implementation pathway. The US Department of Defense awarded $29.9mn to ElementUSA in November for the facility and early work in Texas. As a result, ElementUSA can move faster from concept to pilot operations.

ElementUSA also committed up to $10.1mn to help Metallium install flash joule heating units in Anahuac, Texas. The teams will run pilot-scale testing on red mud feedstock. However, the longer-term plan targets capacity ramp-up at the Gramercy site.

Red mud volumes create a large domestic feedstock base

Red mud availability anchors the economics of any recovery process. ElementUSA has up to 30mn tonnes of red mud under contract at the Gramercy alumina refinery. Therefore, the Metallium ElementUSA partnership can test at scale without sourcing constraints.

Gallium and scandium sit at the intersection of defense demand and supply risk. Both metals support advanced electronics, radar systems, and lightweight alloys. Meanwhile, recent Chinese export controls have tightened Western supply and elevated strategic urgency.

The Metalnomist Commentary

This project matters because red mud converts a liability into a domestic critical minerals option. However, investors will watch recovery yields, purity specs, and unit costs versus imported material. Therefore, the pilot results will decide whether flash joule heating becomes a scalable US pathway for gallium and scandium.