The United States wants to reduce their dependence on China for the supply of critical metals and metalloids. And they’re now funding a publicly traded company who is aiming to replace germanium in optical systems to do it.
What’s happening:
- LightPath Technologies (NASDAQ: LPTH) has been awarded more funding from the United States Department of Defense for advancing their novel optical technology known as BlackDiamond glass
By the numbers:
- The United States Department of Defense will provide LightPath Technologies with $500K USD in new capital as part of their ongoing funding commitment
Why it matters:
- The United States Department of Defense is largely funding LightPath Technologies in an effort to reduce domestic dependence on germanium, which is one of the most commonly used metalloids for optical systems and is largely controlled by China for global supply
- China previously made waves when they announced they would begin to restrict the exportation of germanium, which has caused the price of germanium to skyrocket over the past year
Going deeper:
- LightPath Technologies previously was awarded granted a European Defense Manufacturing License to be able to sell their optics and imaging systems to defense companies across all of Europe for the first time
- Optics and imaging systems are a crucial technology for defense tech and military combat, as they enable heightened visibility in low light environments and provide multispectral imaging for drones, ground vehicles and aircraft to use for surveillance purposes
The intrigue:
- China has been restricting the exportation of many critical metals and metalloids that are highly important for military purposes including antimony, which has caused a significant uptick in publicly traded companies beginning to rush to find domestic sources of antimony supply
