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INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Two of USACA’s working groups unveiled white papers during the Spring Technical Meeting aimed at proposing new government investments that would assist in developing a domestic supply of boron carbide and addressing workforce challenges within the advanced ceramics industry.
Why it matters: Boron carbide, an extremely hard ceramic material, is used in aerospace, defense, nuclear, and advanced manufacturing sectors. Currently, China dominates the supply market.
“Despite its strategic importance and lack of viable substitutes, domestic production is severely limited despite 930 metric tons of consumption annually,” said Landon Mertz, CEO of USACA member Cerion Nanomaterials. “As a result, the U.S. imports about 870 metric tons per year, with 66% coming from China, a figure that has risen sharply over the past two decades. The European Union, the second-largest supplier to the United States, also relies on Chinese raw materials, further extending Chinese supply chain dominance over the U.S.”
Mertz continued: “U.S. dependence poses significant economic and national security risks. Over the recent years, prices for boron carbide powder have risen dramatically, outpacing inflation, while quality has deteriorated, leading to higher production costs and defect rates of boron carbide parts. Additionally, there are industry concerns that China may be selectively exporting lower-grade material while reserving high-quality powder for its military, exacerbating supply chain vulnerabilities. In the event of a conflict, China could restrict exports, cutting off a material essential for U.S. defense and industrial needs. Future demand from emerging technologies like small modular reactors and fusion energy could further strain supply.”
What's next: The white paper, titled High Purity Boron Carbide Pilot Demonstration, advocates for $10 million in the Fiscal Year 2026 Army budget to demonstrate a new process for producing high-quality boron carbide powder that “surpasses market standards while maintaining or lowering costs and relying entirely on a domestic supply chain for materials and equipment,” the paper stipulates.
“Given current market conditions and price pressures from China, private industry alone cannot justify the investment,” it states. “Without government support, these industries risk continued reliance on foreign suppliers, particularly China, creating strategic and economic vulnerabilities.”
The proposal was compiled by Cerion, Lucideon, and Framatone.
HANDS-ON: Another major thrust for USACA this year is to secure funding for the Advanced Ceramics for Defense Consortium (ACDC), which has developed an initiative to help alleviate labor shortages in the advanced ceramics manufacturing industry – particularly to address national security needs.
The challenge: “The shrinking workforce of ceramic engineers threatens the future of U.S. defense technologies,” the proposal states. “Despite the vast usage of advanced ceramics in a multitude of military applications, the United States is producing fewer ceramic engineers today than at any point in the last 70 years, while our adversaries are doing just the opposite.”
‘Only three’: Advanced ceramics engineering is a unique subspecialty within the engineering field. “Yet with only three ceramic engineering programs in the country and fewer than fifty qualified ceramic engineers graduating annually, the advanced ceramics industry faces severe workforce constraints,” the paper attests.
The pitch: The consortium is proposing several workforce initiatives with a $10 million request in the Pentagon's research budget for next fiscal year.
They include establishing three regional nodes – in the Mountain West, Midwest, and Northeast – equipped with specialized training facilities that can support hands-on coursework and defense industry traineeship. “This will ensure a steady pipeline of skilled workers with the essential knowledge and expertise for defense industry applications,” according to the proposal.
Public-private partnership: The consortium, meanwhile, “will provide financial support to acquire and/or upgrade state-of-the-art equipment focused on advanced ceramics fabrication, integration, and testing” and “offer first-year fellowships to students pursuing ceramic engineering degrees,” according to the white paper.
“Through these comprehensive initiatives,” it concludes, “ACDC will help alleviate labor shortages in the advanced ceramics manufacturing industry. Over time, these efforts will ensure the continued production of defense technologies that rely on advanced ceramics, as well as the uninterrupted support for research and development in this field.”
Double or nothing: One major goal of the effort is to double the number of ceramic engineering degrees by 2030.
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