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Metal additive manufacturing (AM) powder producer 6K Additive has signed a final loan agreement with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for a secured financing facility of up to US$27.4 million. The funds will support expansion at the company’s headquarters in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, where it produces nickel, titanium and refractory metal powders for aerospace, defense, space, energy and industrial customers.
The agreement ties into a federal push to strengthen domestic manufacturing and supply chains for critical industries such as defense and aerospace. 6K Additive says demand for secure, domestically produced critical materials continues to grow, and the loan is intended to help it raise output to meet that need.
EXIM’s board approved the loan on December 4, 2025, pending completed loan documentation. With the agreement now executed, 6K Additive, which trades on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker 6KA, can use the facility to reimburse itself for equipment and infrastructure purchases already in progress.
Loan Terms and Borrowing Costs
The facility has a six-year term, and the company can draw funds until June 30, 2028. For the first 12 months, 6K Additive will pay interest only, then repay principal in installments over the remaining five years.
Interest is fixed at the Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR), which will be set five business days before the first disbursement. The published CIRR currently stands at 5.38 percent.
Up to US$25.2 million of the total covers eligible project costs, and up to US$2.2 million finances EXIM’s exposure fee, charged at 8.9 percent on each disbursement. Under current rates, 6K Additive estimates its all-in annual borrowing cost at about 6.86 percent. A commitment fee of 0.5 percent per year also applies to any undrawn and uncancelled amount during the drawdown period.
Four New Buildings in Burgettstown
The loan supports construction of four new buildings at the Burgettstown facility and the purchase of additional manufacturing equipment. The goal is to raise output of titanium, tungsten, C-103, nickel alloys and other metal powders made with the company’s UniMelt microwave plasma process.
6K Additive makes its powders from domestic feedstocks, including certified turnings and millings, used AM powder, support material and failed builds. The company says the process meets the quality and traceability standards of aerospace and defense buyers, as well as DFARS, the procurement regulations of the U.S. Department of War (DoW).
Federal Grants and Loans Behind Domestic Powder Capacity
The EXIM loan adds debt financing to a US$23.4 million Defense Production Act grant 6K Additive already holds for the plant. Together they back an expansion expected to raise production from 200 to more than 1,000 metric tons per year. When EXIM’s board approved the loan, Michael Cadenazzi, Assistant Secretary of War for Industrial Base Policy, said it built on the DoW’s 2023 Title III investment in the company.
Elsewhere, titanium manufacturer IperionX is also using federal funding to expand domestic metal capacity for defense and commercial customers. Under a US$47.1 million award from the Pentagon’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, it received US$12.5 million for equipment to take its Virginia Titanium Manufacturing Campus past 1,000 metric tons of annual capacity.
The equipment covers titanium deoxygenation, sintering and powder metallurgy consolidation systems, near-net-shape component manufacturing, and infrastructure improvements. IperionX also holds a separate Small Business Innovation Research contract worth up to US$99 million for titanium parts.
Both companies are combining more than one federal program to fund new capacity, and the finalized EXIM loan adds a repayable layer to 6K Additive’s grant-backed expansion.
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Featured image shows 6K Additive Logo. Image via 6K Additive.
