Born from West Virginia University research, Mission Critical Materials recovers heavy rare earth elements from acid mine drainage while improving water quality at legacy mining sites. Launched in December 2025, the U.S.-based company is commercializing a modular process demonstrated in both Appalachian coal-mine water and hard-rock mine drainage, turning mandated environmental treatment into a domestic source of materials for defense and advanced manufacturing. Its work is supported by more than $35 million in U.S. government funding.
REalloys IncREalloys Inc. is building a vertically integrated North American mine-to-magnet business that turns rare-earth resources and recycled feedstocks into metals, alloys, and permanent magnets. Its unusual edge is uranium and thorium removal at commercial scale through its Saskatchewan Research Council partnership, paired with downstream manufacturing in Euclid, Ohio. The company is developing this supply chain for defense, electrification, renewable energy, and other applications that depend on non-Chinese rare-earth materials.EUCLID, OH
Aclara Resources IncAclara Resources is developing a vertically integrated heavy rare earth supply chain, from ionic clay deposits in Brazil and Chile through U.S. separation and magnet-grade alloy production. Its patented Circular Mineral Harvesting process is designed to produce rare earth concentrates without tailings while recirculating 95% of process water and 99% of its main reagent. The company is also applying artificial intelligence to exploration and separation, with a pilot plant partnership involving Virginia Tech and Argonne National Laboratory.BETHESDA, MD
AmeriCarbonAmeriCarbon is a Morgantown, West Virginia, company built around a different view of coal: treating it as a source of useful carbon materials rather than simply as fuel. Its patented Eco-Pitch™ process converts American coal and coal waste into a domestic carbon alternative for manufacturers serving commercial, defense, and infrastructure markets.MORGANTOWN, WV
IM Technologies, LLCFounded in 2019 by experimental nuclear physicist Vasily Jorjadze, IM Technologies develops environmentally focused material-processing systems using patented, constant-current plasma arc technology. The U.S.-based startup applies extreme-temperature processing to challenges including rare-earth extraction, waste conversion and water purification. Its three senior leaders bring decades of experience in nuclear physics, technology development and commercialization, with early development supported by PowerBridgeNY and Stony Brook University.SHOREHAM, NY