Supra awarded DLA contract to advance its scandium recovery technology

Supra's 3D-printed sorbent for separating scandium through a hydrometallurgical process (Supra Elemental Recovery)

Supra Elemental Recovery has received a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract from the US Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to advance its scandium recovery technology, the company said in a 30 September statement.

“Supra will evaluate the feasibility of applying its separation platform to relevant feedstocks in support of potential future scalability,” the statement said, adding that scandium is used in “advanced aerospace, energy, and commercial technologies”.

Origins

Supra was formed out of the University of Texas at Austin in 2025 as a “critical mineral separations technology company”, Jordan Sessler, co-founder and chief operating officer of Supra Elemental Recovery, told Janes on 15 October.

The company raised a USD2.15 million pre-seed funding round, which closed in December 2025, Supra told Janes. Global mining firm Rio Tinto then joined the funding round as a strategic investor in April 2026, according to a Supra statement.

Since its founding, Supra has been taking academic work and adapting it to commercial needs, Sessler said. The company is seeking industrial partners to test recovery of elements including gallium and scandium, he said.

The company's work with gallium is the most advanced, with the potential to begin “piloting on a tons per year basis within the context of a commercial agreement in the next couple years”, Sessler said.

For scandium, Supra is maturing the technology to demonstrate that it can work at commercial scale, he added.

SBIR