The story
Founded by Michael Silver in 1997.1
American Elements began as a toll chemical manufacturer and refiner serving U.S. mining companies by producing metal-based chemicals from their deposits. In 1998, its two largest customers, the Unocal/Molycorp rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass, California, and the Rhodia rare-earth refinery in Freeport, Texas closed, ending domestic U.S. rare-earth production. In response, the company established mining joint ventures in Inner Mongolia, China and in 1999 became one of the first post-Cold War companies to export rare-earth metals from China to the U.S. and Europe.
Over the following decade the company expanded operations to include production of all elements on the periodic table and established educational programs, scholarships and scientific conferences to educate the public on the properties and applications of the elements. In 2001, it launched its website, which is a compendium of information on the elements and advanced materials including properties, uses, safety data, and academic research.
That same year, the company established its research and development department, of which the stated goal was to develop new materials and cost effective processes in order to scale their production to bulk quantities. Materials with application promise that could not be effectively scaled were abandoned in favor of materials and technologies that had the benefit of being producible at costs in line with their commercial application. Many of the technologies and materials developed at American Elements were co-designed and co-developed with technology collaborators. The company develops and commercializes technology materials in partnership with the U.S. military and 30 percent of the Fortune 50 list of companies.
On November 12, 2020, the company announced its expansion into the life sciences industry with a new manufacturing group devoted to life science and organic chemistry products.
Innovations
The company has made several new discoveries in materials science. These include:
Gadolinium nitrate made with heavy water (Gd(NO3)3 · 2H2O) for use as a neutron "getter" during nuclear reactor maintenance
A rare-earth compound used as a dry-film lubricant at extremely high temperatures and pressures
A nanoscale "quick-dissolve" powder used in orally disintegrating pharmaceuticals
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A neodymium oxide-based additive to reduce yellow-green wavelength emission in incandescent light bulbs
Zinc oxide nanoparticles incorporated as an antimicrobial agent in textiles
A high-purity form of ytterbium(III) fluoride for use as a radiopaque material in dental composites
A nanoscale electrolyte material in next-generation lithium-sulfur batteries.
Iridium parts for the jewelry industry, most notably pure iridium rings and wedding bands. The company established Smithson Tennant, a new wholly owned subsidiary, in November 2016 to make and market its iridium jewelry production.
From Wikipedia’s article on American Elements, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4