ABR Boron Facility
ABR’s Fort Cady Integrated Boron Facility has been designated as Critical Infrastructure by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The designation of ‘Critical status’ is a sign that the US Government considers Fort Cady and its reserves to be in the interest of national security.
The designation validates Fort Cady’s role in providing a new, critical, domestic source of boron amidst a challenged global supply chain. CISA, as a U.S. federal agency and operational component under the Department of Homeland Security, is tasked with understanding, managing, and reducing risk to the nation’s cyber and physical infrastructure.
Fort Cady’s designation by CISA as U.S. Critical Infrastructure represents a key milestone for ABR since the U.S. government recognizes Fort Cady’s significance and supports its objective to provide a new, critical, and domestic source of boron amidst a challenged global supply chain.
Traditional uses of Boron extend to more than 300 commercial and household products, while advanced uses in military vehicles and body armor, permanent magnets, semi-conductors, wind turbines, nuclear reactors, and pharmaceuticals have compelled greater interest and demand among our global competitors.
These newer applications, coupled with the predominant foreign ownership and control of the Boron supply chain, demonstrate the national significance and urgency in resolving this vulnerability.” Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been at the forefront of identifying supply chain risks and exposures, prompting wider considerations of critical infrastructure and essential workers.
ABR CEO Comment
Commenting on ABR’s Critical Infrastructure designation, ABR CEO, Henri Tausch, said: “We are pleased to have the support of the U.S. government in developing our Fort Cady Integrated Boron Facility. CISA’s Critical Infrastructure designation validates the scarcity of new reliable sources of boron and its criticality in high end use applications.
The world is at an inflection point to secure supply chains of critical future facing and decarbonization materials and we look forward to pursuing our objective of becoming a leader in one of these key materials – boron.”
