SOUTH BOSTON, Va. – Governor Glenn Youngkin was in South Boston Tuesday to announce an $80 million investment into the region that will create more than 100 new jobs.
IperionX Limited, a U.S. critical minerals company, plans to establish Virginia’s first titanium demonstration facility in Halifax County.
The company will initially occupy the 50,000-square-foot Halifax Shell Building in the Southern Virginia Technology Park and plans to expand the facility to 100,000 square feet in the coming years.
“To actually have the vision to build this building and have it ready to go was hugely important,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin alongside company leadership Tuesday. “But on top of that, I think Southside and more rural parts of Virginia have really been ignored over the last few administrations.”
IperionX intends to source 100% renewable energy to produce 100% recycled titanium to supply advanced industries including automotive, defense, aerospace, electric vehicles, and 3D printing.
“Everything from the smartphones and smartwatches that people use to the cars they drive, if we can produce an American made, low-cost sustainable source of titanium metal and expand that to provide it to industries the United States and world eventually, that should be something that everybody is really proud of,” said Founder and CEO of IperionX Anastasios Arima.
The company’s project will develop over two phases, with phase one consisting of a $12.5 million investment in building construction and production-related machinery and tools, and a further $69.6 million investment anticipated under a Phase 2 expansion within three years of the initial development.
The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with Halifax County, the Southern Virginia Regional Alliance, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the Virginia Department of Energy to secure the project for Virginia.
Governor Youngkin approved a $300,000 grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Halifax County with the project.
The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved a grant for $573,000 from the Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund for the project.
Production is slated to begin by the late summer or early fall of 2023.