Here’s the thing nobody in Washington wants to admit: building rare earth processing capacity in the United States isn’t just about writing checks and cutting ribbons. It’s about cracking industrial chemistry problems that took China three decades to master. Which makes what just happened outside Dallas genuinely significant.
Momentum Technologies has commissioned the world’s first dual-track processing plant capable of handling both battery materials and rare earth elements at commercial scale. Same facility. Same proprietary MSX technology platform. Two entirely separate supply chains that the Pentagon considers “existential vulnerabilities.”
That’s not marketing spin. That’s engineering.
What Makes Dual-Track Processing Actually Matter
Most rare earth separation facilities are built around a single feedstock chemistry. You design for light rare earths from bastnäsite, or heavy rare earths from ion-adsorbed clays, or maybe you’re processing recycled permanent magnets. You don’t typically design a plant that can switch between rare earth oxides and lithium hydroxide precursors mid-shift.
Momentum’s MSX technology changes that calculus. The modular solvent extraction platform uses what the company describes as “adaptive chemistry cascades” that can be reconfigured for different feedstock types without requiring complete equipment replacement. Think of it as software-defined manufacturing applied to hydrometallurgy.
The strategic implication is brutal: this is the kind of operational flexibility that lets you respond to market volatility without mothballing half your facility. Battery-grade lithium prices crater? Pivot to rare earth separation contracts. Dysprosium supply tightens? Shift capacity accordingly.
China’s rare earth refineries don’t typically operate this way. They achieve economies of scale through specialization and volume, not flexibility. Which is fine when you control 70% of global rare earth refining and 85% of permanent magnet production. Less fine when you’re trying to build a resilient domestic supply chain from scratch.
The F-35 Problem Nobody Wanted to Talk About
Momentum CEO Mahesh Konduru testified before the House Armed Services Committee in January 2026. The headline that should have gotten more attention: each F-35 Lightning II requires approximately 920 pounds of rare earth materials. Per aircraft.
Those materials currently come from processing facilities in China. Not “partially sourced from.” Not “with some Chinese content in the supply chain.” They come from China because there aren’t enough alternatives. The Pentagon has been trying to solve this problem since the Obama administration.
The testimony got more uncomfortable from there. Konduru walked through the rare earth requirements for advanced AI computing infrastructure: neodymium-iron-boron magnets in cooling systems, dysprosium for motor drives, europium and terbium for efficient power supplies. The same materials stack that powers data centers also powers fifth-generation fighters.
Here’s the kicker: you can’t stockpile your way out of this. Rare earth permanent magnets degrade over time. The magnets in a stored F-35 component today will have measurably worse performance characteristics in five years. You need continuous processing capacity, not strategic reserves.
That reality makes facilities like Momentum’s Dallas plant a national security asset rather than just an industrial one. The Department of Defense has already pre-qualified the facility for Defense Production Act priority contracts, which essentially puts them at the front of the line for critical material allocations.
MSX Technology and the Scale Problem
Momentum’s proprietary MSX platform combines solvent extraction with ion exchange resins in a continuous cascade system. The technical details get dense quickly, but the operational outcome matters: significantly lower reagent consumption compared to conventional rare earth processing, which typically generates 7-10 tons of waste for every ton of rare earth oxide produced.
The Dallas facility is designed to process 2,500 metric tons of rare earth feedstock annually alongside battery material streams. That’s not enormous by Chinese standards: a single Inner Mongolia separation plant might handle 10,000+ tons. But it represents approximately 15% of total U.S. rare earth processing capacity when fully operational.
More importantly, it’s expandable. The modular design allows Momentum to add separation capacity in 500-ton increments without requiring complete facility redesigns. That kind of scalability matters when you’re trying to match capacity growth to actual demand signals rather than building massive overcapacity upfront.
The battery materials side processes lithium hydroxide and nickel sulfate precursors, feeding into the same North American supply chains that GM, Ford, and the joint venture battery plants have been desperately trying to secure. Momentum has already locked in offtake agreements with two major battery cell manufacturers, though specific customer names remain under NDA.
The Timeline Nobody Wants to Discuss
Momentum broke ground on the Dallas facility in September 2023. Commercial operations began in January 2026. That’s 28 months from dirt to production qualification.
Compare that to the average permitting timeline for a new rare earth mine in the United States, which currently runs 7-10 years. Or the timeline for scaling up a processing facility from pilot to commercial scale, which historically takes 4-6 years in the rare earth sector.
The speed reflects two realities. First, this is a processing facility, not a mine: environmental permitting is dramatically simpler when you’re not drilling or blasting. Second, Momentum structured the project to qualify for expedited review under the CHIPS Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provisions covering critical minerals processing.
But speed creates its own problems. Momentum is currently running the facility at roughly 60% nameplate capacity while they work through supply chain qualification with automotive and defense customers. Nobody’s first rare earth separation campaign runs at full capacity right out of the gate. The chemistry works in pilot scale. Making it work 24/7 at commercial scale with consistent quality requires iteration.
They’re also competing for the same skilled workforce that every other advanced manufacturing facility in Texas is trying to hire. Chemical engineers with rare earth processing experience? There are maybe 200 in North America. Process operators who understand solvent extraction? You’re training them from scratch.
What This Actually Changes
One facility in Texas doesn’t eliminate U.S. dependence on Chinese rare earth processing. It barely makes a dent. China still refines roughly 165,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides annually. Momentum’s 2,500-ton capacity represents 1.5% of that total.
But it demonstrates something that Washington has struggled to prove: you can build rare earth processing capacity in the United States without requiring two decades and unlimited budgets. The economics work if you design for flexibility rather than maximum throughput. The technology works if you’re willing to invest in proprietary separation chemistry instead of licensing decades-old Chinese processes.
The real test comes next. Momentum has announced plans for a second facility in the Southwest, targeting heavy rare earth separation with a focus on dysprosium and terbium. Those are the materials with the most severe supply constraints and the highest strategic value. They’re also the hardest to process efficiently.
If that second plant hits commercial operation before 2028, it changes the strategic calculus around domestic rare earth capacity. If it stalls in permitting or fails to hit production targets, it confirms what the skeptics have argued all along: China’s rare earth dominance isn’t just about subsidies and environmental standards. It’s about decades of accumulated process knowledge that you can’t shortcut.
Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking. U.S. rare earth demand is projected to grow 12-15% annually through 2030, driven primarily by defense modernization and EV battery production. Domestic processing capacity needs to triple just to keep import dependence from getting worse.
Momentum’s Dallas plant proves the technology works. What it doesn’t prove yet is whether America has the political will and industrial patience to scale it fast enough to matter. That’s the uncomfortable question nobody’s answering in public testimony.
The facility is online. The chemistry works. Now comes the hard part: making enough of it, fast enough, to actually change the strategic reality. There’s not enough capacity yet. But for the first time in a generation, there’s a proven pathway to get there.
