6K Additive Wins $1.95 Million Defense Logistics Agency Contract to Turn Military Scrap Into Metal Powder

6K Additive has won a $1.95 million Phase II contract from the Defense Logistics Agency to convert nickel, titanium, tungsten and niobium scrap from military depots into high-value powder for additive manufacturing. The 18-month award, announced April 2, 2026, pushes a Pentagon-backed recycling effort into a more operational phase and ties it directly to defense supply-chain resilience.

Defense Logistics Agency backs scrap-to-powder scale-up

The contract is part of a program called “Recovering Strategic Value,” aimed at reducing U.S. dependence on imported critical metals while recovering material from domestic military scrap streams. 6K Additive said the work will focus on end-of-life parts from select U.S. military depots, with the material converted into powder suitable for additive manufacturing.

That matters because powder quality is the bottleneck in many advanced manufacturing routes. If recovered feedstock can be processed to the specifications needed for defense applications, it can shorten supply lines while giving the military a secondary source of metals that are often exposed to geopolitical risk and price swings.

Why the contract matters for additive manufacturing

Metal powder is the starting point for several industrial 3D-printing and near-net-shape production methods, and the defense sector has been trying to widen its access to qualified domestic sources. This award suggests the Pentagon is willing to pay for process development that turns scrap recovery into usable production input, not just a recycling exercise.

For 6K Additive, the contract provides a commercial validation point as well as a government-funded test bed. The company will need to demonstrate that recovered nickel, titanium, tungsten and niobium can be made into powders with the consistency, purity and morphology required for demanding applications.

What happens over the next 18 months

The award runs for 18 months and includes standard government contract milestones and termination rights. That structure gives the project a clear technical timetable while leaving the government room to assess progress before committing to any broader rollout.

If the program meets its targets, the practical payoff is straightforward: more domestic metal powder supply, less waste leaving military depots, and a better route for putting strategically important metals back into circulation. For a materials company trying to move from process development to durable demand, that is the kind of assignment that can define the next stage of the business.