MIT Startup Breaks China's Grip on Critical Metal Supply

When Peter Godart couldn't get the materials he needed for his aluminum fuel startup because China controlled 99 percent of the supply, he didn't give up. He invented a whole new way to extract them instead.

The MIT graduate founded Found Industries four years ago to turn aluminum scraps into high-density fuel for industrial operations. His team discovered a catalyst that makes aluminum react with water at unprecedented power levels, creating megawatt-scale energy from compact systems.

But there was a problem. The catalyst required gallium, a critical metal that China produces almost exclusively and restricts through export controls. Gallium powers everything from military defense systems to semiconductor chips to renewable energy technology.

Rather than accept dependence on a restricted foreign supply chain, Godart's team developed their own electrochemical extraction technology. They started by solving their own gallium needs, then realized they'd stumbled onto something much bigger.

Now Found Industries is launching Found Metals, a new division backed by the U.S. Department of Energy. The company aims to become one of the first major Western suppliers of gallium and other critical metals, extracting them directly from mineral refineries.

The technology builds on Godart's original research at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he explored using aluminum as fuel on other planets. He brought those ideas back to MIT in 2017, working with professor Douglas Hart to adapt them for Earth-based applications.

"When you produce 99 percent of something, you also produce 99 percent of the tools required to extract it," Godart explains. "We couldn't get our hands on some of those tools, so we were forced to come up with a new technology."

Found Industries is already running a 100-kilowatt demonstration plant for its aluminum fuel operations. Industrial pilot deployments are scheduled for next year under the company's Found Energy division.

The Ripple Effect

This breakthrough does more than help one startup succeed. It addresses a glaring vulnerability in America's industrial and defense infrastructure at exactly the right moment.

By creating domestic gallium production, Found Industries could help secure supply chains for critical technologies across multiple sectors. The company's extraction method could also work for other important metals currently dominated by foreign producers.

What started in an MIT basement is now tackling one of the nation's most pressing supply chain challenges, proving that the best solutions sometimes come from simply refusing to accept the status quo.