ASX-listed 6K Additive has concluded a previously flagged US$27.4 million loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to support expansion of its Burgettstown metal powder manufacturing plant in Pennsylvania.
The company uses its proprietary UniMelt process to produce titanium, tungsten, C-103 (niobium-hafnium-titanium) and nickel alloys and other advanced metal powders to US defence and aerospace specifications.
“Finalising this agreement with EXIM marks an important milestone for 6K Additive and reinforces the strategic importance of expanding domestic production of the critical materials essential to America’s defence and advanced manufacturing industries,” 6K Additive CEO Frank Roberts said.
6K Additive listed on the ASX late last year, raising A$48 million via an initial public offering, and achieving a circa-$267 million market value. It’s currently worth about $125 million.
As well as the EXIM loan it secured a US$23.4 million US Department of War grant to help scale its metal-powder production capacity from c200 tonnes per annum to 1000tpa and initiate commercial ingot production.
6K Additive says its UniMelt microwave plasma process, which came out of research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), produces high-quality powder “that is truly spherical, void of porosity and satellites with better flowability than competing technologies”.
