Can the West challenge China’s titanium supremacy

The genuine strategic opportunity lies not in attempting to compete with China in commodity pigment production, but in developing alternative, lower-cost feedstock pathways that can serve both the TiO₂ industry and, critically, new sponge production initiatives.

If the West wants to counter Chinese dominance, then quite simply it needs to produce more titanium. The big question is: can the US and allies realistically challenge China’s titanium supremacy, or at least mitigate the risks, within the next decade?

Reshoring and critical mineral strategies

The US, EU, UK, Japan, and Australia have all listed titanium under their critical mineral lists, meaning it’s recognized as essential and at risk of supply disruption — and has been followed up with some government policy and investment:

• funding and incentives: the US Department of War, through the Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III program, has issued contracts and grants to encourage domestic titanium production. For example, IperionX, a US startup, received a contract of up to US$47.1 million to establish a titanium supply chain using novel methods. IperionX is working on mining titanium minerals in Tennessee and producing titanium powder via a new process. Similarly, the DoW has funded research into extraction of titanium from ores with lower cost and energy
• trade policy: Western nations have already shown themselves willing to use tariffs and trade defenses to protect remaining producers from unfair competition. This is likely to continue; for example, the EU’s anti-dumping duties on Chinese pigment will run for 5 years and could be renewed
• allied cooperation: there is talk of an “allied titanium network” where friendly countries coordinate. For instance, Japan could supply sponge to the US, while the US supplies alloy scrap to Japan. Likewise, Australia and the US have an agreement on critical minerals that could facilitate Australian feedstock being processed in the US with DoW support
• The US National Defense Stockpile has also been authorized to acquire titanium (sponge or alloy) to ensure a buffer. In 2022, the US stockpile was essentially at zero for titanium; now appropriations have been made to stockpile some material, which means government purchases supporting non-Chinese suppliers
• environmental and permitting reform: some Western countries are working on faster permitting for critical mineral projects. If, for example, a new mineral sands mine is proposed in the US or an expansion in Australia, governments are increasingly likely to streamline approvals

Diversification via new projects: Empire Metals

To counterbalance China’s control, Western countries and others are exploring new titanium feedstock projects as potential game-changers. Several notable developments – from Australia’s giant Pitfield discovery to new mineral sands mines in Africa – could provide alternative sources of titanium by the 2030s.