The company has partnered with GA Europe's Umwelt-und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH (UIT), Rare Element Resources (RER), and LNV on the demonstration project, which will be designed to demonstrate the separation and purification of rare earth oxides (REOs) extracted from ore at RER's Bear Lodge deposit in Wyoming.

Bear Lodge, GA said, has the critical rare earth elements essential for end product such as high-strength permanent magnets, electronics, fiber optics, laser systems for health and defense and commercial technologies such as electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

"This is a very interesting and exciting opportunity, and we look forward to working closely with DOE and our partners to bring this important project into an operational reality," GA-EMA president Scott Forney said.

"For many years, General Atomics' involvement in the development, design and production of advanced technology defense and energy systems has made us keenly aware of our nation's urgent need to secure a domestic supply of critical rare earth elements for national and commercial applications."

GA pointed out that China currently controls about 80% of the world's supply of rare earth elements. The Supply and availability potential for REEs domestically is a major advantage.

"GA-EMS brings a depth of expertise in successfully managing large, complex, multi-year government programs, and specifically Government Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)-compliant programs," Forney said.

"Along with RER, LNV and our GA affiliate UIT, this team brings the resources, experience and technologies together to efficiently design, engineer, construct and operate a facility for the separation and processing of rare earth ore to meet the nation's requirements."