S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) stock IperionX Ltd (ASX: IPX) is charging higher today.
Shares in the titanium products producer closed yesterday trading for $4.08. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are changing hands for $4.45 apiece, up 9.1%. This sees IperionX commanding a market cap of around $1.5 billion.
For some context, the ASX 200 is down 0.4% at this same time.
Here's what's grabbing investor interest.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX 200 stock jumps on DoW funding
IperionX shares are racing ahead today after the company announced it has been awarded up to US$6.6 million (AU$9.6 million) under a US Department of War (DoW) program.
The program is funded by the Office of the Secretary of War Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base.
The ASX 200 stock noted that the award is part of a multi-organisation program to scale production of high-performance titanium alloy products. These were reported to include ballistic-grade titanium plate, for land and maritime defence platforms.
Importantly for IperionX shareholders, the company highlighted that the funding will support expanded manufacturing capability for large-format military titanium components at its Titanium Manufacturing Campus, located in the US state of Virginia. The expanded manufacturing capacity will help boost the DoW's critical-material supply chains.
Also likely stoking investor interest, IperionX said it received an additional purchase order from the US Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center to manufacture a range of titanium fasteners.
What did IperionX management say?
Commenting on the award helping boost the ASX 200 stock today, IperionX CEO Taso Arima said, "This award is an important validation of IperionX's strategy to scale high-performance titanium manufacturing capacity in the United States."
Arima continued:
By combining lower-cost titanium feedstocks with our patented HAMR, HSPT and THRM technologies, we are developing a more efficient domestic manufacturing platform for high-performance titanium plate and components.
Our objective is to shorten the conventional titanium production chain, reduce supply-chain complexity and build a more resilient, lower-cost US titanium supply chain for defence, aerospace and advanced manufacturing customers.
As for the additional purchase order the ASX 200 stock received, Arima added:
In addition to the award, the new prototype order for titanium fasteners for the JLTV is a further signal of the important role that is developing for IperionX in supporting the US defence industrial base.
IperionX senior adviser Ross Coffman (a retired US Army Lieutenant General) noted his firsthand experience of the importance of a secure, low-cost titanium supply chain for national security.
Coffman said:
The Army has a pressing need to reduce the weight of our ground vehicle platforms to maintain combat effectiveness. The benefits of titanium across all defence mobility platforms, including robotics, are well known and I'm proud to be on this mission with IperionX.
