Jamie Bennet
The U.S. Army has issued a request for solutions in pursuit of vendors for two Rare Earth Element Initiatives Prototype Projects, which aim to secure domestic sourcing and processing of REE used in defense applications.
The service branch may award single or multiple other transaction authority agreements focused on REE recovery and separation technologies, according to a notice posted on SAM.gov.
The Department of Defense is looking to reduce its dependence on imported critical elements such as cobalt, neodymium, lithium and vanadium, which are used in military sensors, vehicles and other defense technologies. To that end, the agency plans to evaluate prototyping REE efforts that can support traditional and new defense manufacturing processes.
The DOD will select awardees that can find domestic sources of REE and critical mineral feedstock. They must also have capabilities to increase capacity for recovery processes.
Interested bidders can submit their responses until Dec. 14.
