Project Vault

What Project Vault does

Project Vault is a US government strategic minerals reserve initiative launched in February 2026 by the Trump administration and financed through the US Export-Import Bank. It is structured as a $12 billion public-private partnership, combining a $10 billion US Exim loan — the largest in the bank's history — with approximately $1.7-2 billion in private commitments from over a dozen major US manufacturers including General Motors, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, GE Vernova, Stellantis, Alphabet, Corning, Western Digital, and Clarios. The program is modeled on the 1975 Strategic Petroleum Reserve and targets stockpiling of critical minerals — gallium, antimony, graphite, and rare earth elements — sufficient to provide a 60-day emergency supply buffer for US industries spanning EVs, electronics, healthcare, defense, and aerospace.

The program operates through a closed-loop architecture in which participating manufacturers pay upfront fees in exchange for priority access to the fixed-price stockpile, while three designated commodity trading firms (Hartree Partners, Mercuria Americas, and Traxys North America) serve as sourcing and logistics counterparties. Distribution is administered through direct government-to-manufacturer relationships rather than open commercial channels, with allocation governed by industrial need and national security priorities. The initiative's explicit objective is to reduce US dependence on Chinese critical mineral supply chains, given that China controls an estimated 70% of mining and 90% of global rare earth processing capacity, and to protect domestic manufacturers from geopolitical supply shocks and price volatility.

Name

Project Vault

Legal name

Project Vault

Website

https://projectvault.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Vault is a US government strategic minerals reserve launched in February 2026, backed by a $10 billion US Exim loan and ~$2 billion in private corporate commitments. It stockpiles gallium, antimony, graphite, and rare earths to provide a 60-day emergency supply buffer for major US manufacturers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Strategic Mineral Reserves

NAICS

Metal Ore Mining (2122)

SIC

Miscellaneous Metal Ores (1090)

akta.pro primary industry

Precious Metals Exploration & Project Development (IMAKAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Project & Infrastructure Bonds (FSACABAN)

Keywords

• Strategic mineral reserves
• Critical minerals stockpiling
• Supply chain security
• Rare earth stockpiling
• Public-private partnership

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Personnel

Distribution channels1 record

Core offering

Project Vault is a US government strategic minerals reserve initiative that builds a 60-day stockpile of critical minerals including gallium, antimony, graphite, and rare earth elements. The $12 billion public-private partnership provides participating US manufacturers with priority access at fixed prices in exchange for upfront fees, reducing dependence on Chinese supply chains.

Product overview

Project Vault is a US government strategic minerals reserve initiative launched by the Trump administration. It is a $10 billion public-private partnership (combining $10 billion in US Export-Import Bank financing with approximately $1.7 billion in private sector contributions) designed to build a strategic stockpile of critical minerals and rare earth elements. The initiative aims to reduce American dependence on Chinese supply chains, particularly for materials essential to clean energy, defense, and advanced manufacturing sectors. The program is modeled after the 1975 Strategic Petroleum Reserve and involves partnerships with major manufacturers and commodity trading firms who pay fees for priority access to fixed-price mineral supplies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Strategic Critical Minerals Stockpile Access Priority access for participating US manufacturers to a government-backed stockpile of critical minerals (gallium, antimony, graphite, rare earth elements) at fixed prices in exchange for upfront fees. Provides 60-day emergency supply capacity to protect automotive, aerospace, electronics, energy, and defense manufacturing from supply shocks and Chinese export controls.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60-day emergency supply capacity for US industries
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Hartree PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Commodity trading firm serving as one of three designated commodity suppliers for Project Vault, responsible for sourcing critical minerals and paying fees to secure fixed prices for the stockpile.
• Mercuria AmericascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Commodity trading firm serving as one of three designated commodity suppliers for Project Vault, responsible for sourcing critical minerals and paying fees to secure fixed prices for the stockpile.
• TraxyscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Commodity trading firm Traxys North America serving as one of three designated commodity suppliers for Project Vault, responsible for sourcing critical minerals and paying fees to secure fixed prices for the stockpile.
• General MotorsflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Major automotive manufacturer that invested in Project Vault and will receive priority access to the critical mineral stockpile in exchange for upfront fees.
• BoeingflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Major aerospace manufacturer that invested in Project Vault and will receive priority access to the critical mineral stockpile in exchange for upfront fees.
• GE VernovaflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Energy sector manufacturer that invested in Project Vault and will receive priority access to the critical mineral stockpile in exchange for upfront fees.
• Lockheed MartinflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Defense contractor that participated in Oval Office discussions on Project Vault and signed on to receive priority access to the stockpile in exchange for upfront fees.
• AlphabetflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Parent company of Google, among the executives present in the Oval Office discussion on Project Vault and signed on to receive priority access to the stockpile.
• Ivanhoe MinesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Mining company with executives present in the Oval Office discussion on Project Vault, representing critical mineral supply source participation.
• Western DigitalflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Electronics manufacturer listed as a manufacturing partner in Project Vault, receiving priority access to critical mineral stockpile.
• ClariosflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Manufacturing partner in Project Vault, listed alongside GE Vernova, Western Digital, and Boeing, receiving priority access to critical mineral stockpile.
• StellantisflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Major automotive manufacturer that invested nearly $2 billion combined with other companies in Project Vault and will receive priority access to the critical mineral stockpile.
• CorningflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 February 2026Materials science and manufacturing company among over a dozen major companies contributing to Project Vault's $2 billion private investment component.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• USA Rare Earth: US-based company developing domestic rare earth mining and processing capacity. A direct emerging peer aligned with Project Vault's objective of building US-controlled critical mineral supply.
• Energy Fuels: US producer of rare earth oxides from monazite sands and a key mid-stream processor relevant to Project Vault's critical mineral mandate, particularly for heavy rare earths.

Others

• Hartree Partners: Designated commodity supplier for Project Vault with deep expertise in critical mineral sourcing. A direct partner and adjacent ecosystem participant rather than a pure peer, but materially involved in the program's supply chain.
• Traxys: Global commodity trading firm designated as one of three suppliers to Project Vault. An adjacent ecosystem participant providing the trading and logistics infrastructure that the program depends on.

Direct peers

• Lynas Rare Earths: Largest non-Chinese rare earth miner and processor globally, with US Department of Defense-backed processing capacity. A direct upstream peer addressing the same critical mineral supply chain concentration.
• MP Materials: Operates the Mountain Pass mine, the only scaled US producer of rare earth elements. A domestic upstream peer that Project Vault's stockpile is designed to support and that addresses the same Chinese supply chain vulnerability.
• Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Strategic Materials: The US government's primary stockpile of strategic and critical materials. Operates the National Defense Stockpile, the closest functional analogue to Project Vault and the historical US institutional framework that Project Vault is designed to supplement.
• Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC): Japanese state-backed entity that finances and stockpiles critical minerals including rare earths. Operates a comparable government-financed mineral security model and was the first major non-US actor to break Chinese rare earth supply concentration.

Broad incumbents

• European Raw Materials Alliance (ERMA): EU-led initiative coordinating critical raw materials supply, financing, and stockpiling across member states. A broader regional analogue to Project Vault with similar strategic objectives but a multi-country governance structure.
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve (US DOE): The 1975 US oil stockpile that Project Vault is explicitly modeled on. A historical and structural analogue demonstrating the long-term viability of government-backed strategic commodity reserves as a policy framework.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Vault