Elmet Group of Portland announced Monday that the Department of Defense has made a $450 million committed investment to expand its manufacturing capabilities and secure long-term access to critical materials tungsten and molybdenum.

In return for the investment, the U.S. government will get a 19.9% equity stake in Elmet Group and the right to appoint one independent director to the company’s board, as well as one non-voting board observer.

The deal includes $165 million of investment in Elmet facilities in Lewiston, Ohio and Michigan, which manufacture and process tungsten, molybdenum and other advanced materials. The metals have both military and civilian applications, and are the two core elements around which the company bases the majority of its products.

Elmet did not say how much of the $165 million investment would be allocated to Lewiston and the other two plants.

“This investment represents an important step toward securing a resilient supply of tungsten, a material that is critical to America’s defense, industrial, and economic future,” Peter Anania, CEO and chairman of Elmet Group, said in a news release.

The federal government taking ownership in private companies was rare prior to the Trump administration.

In the past two years, the federal government has taken equity in more than 30 companies. According to the Cato Institute — a libertarian, public-policy research group — the practice has become routine under the current administration, including a nearly 10% stake in the semiconductor company Intel.

“The U.S. government is now a direct shareholder in private companies, moving beyond traditional market-based approaches to competitiveness that have marked U.S. policy in the postwar period,” the Center for Strategic & International Studies said.

Elmet went public earlier this year.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, U.S. defense procurement rules will prohibit defense contractors from sourcing tungsten metal powder and heavy alloys from China and other designated
countries.

Both metals are considered critical raw materials that China severely restricted from export in 2025, citing national security interests, as well as a response to tariffs imposed by Western nations.

China produces 80% of the global supply of tungsten and the vast majority of the global supply of molybdenum. As a result of China’s export restrictions, prices for molybdenum and tungsten have skyrocketed.

Tungsten is the strongest metal in the world with the highest tensile strength. It’s very dense and has the highest melting point of any metal. Molybdenum has similar properties, but to a lesser degree.

Both have applications in defense and space as well as semiconductor technology and other traditional industrial uses.

Elmet is a supplier to U.S. defense programs, including Patriot, Javelin, AEGIS, Trident II, and THAAD, as well as Virginia- and Columbia-class submarines.