Jennifer Troxel with the United Rare Earths Development team spoke at the meeting

Pictured left to right Campbell County Vice Mayor Randy Brown, Keisha Howard with the County Mayor’s Office, County Mayor Jack Lynch, Rotary President and TCAT President Debbie Petree, Jennifer Troxel with United Rare Earths, and JECDB Chair Jay Willoughby.

By Charlotte Underwood

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- Campbell County Rotarians learned about the exciting new “Rare Earths” industry that is coming to the county during Tuesday’s meeting held at the LaFollette Methodist Church.

Jennifer Troxel with the United Rare Earths Development team spoke at the meeting.

United Rare Earths is an “energy company in pursuit of clean and sustainable energy.” The company was founded by Jeffrey Willis, John Graves and Dr. Bob Wright.

The company held a groundbreaking in Caryville this past December at the Collins Industrial Park. Once the facility is up and running, it will result in “high paying jobs” for Campbell County, while “reinforcing the nation’s economic independence and increasing national security,” according to United Rare Earths officials.

Troxel was introduced by Rotary President Debbie Petree and Jay Willoughby with the Joint Economic Community Development Board.

“United Rare Earths is “collaborating with Oak Ridge National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This team is focused on developing cutting edge technologies and strategic partnerships that will drive advancements in securing domestic Rare Earths supply chain,” Petree said.

“We’re extremely proud they have chosen our county. They are bringing a company to our area that is going to change the future of Campbell County,” said JECDB Chair Jay Willoughby.

Troxel’s role on the development team is to “foster community engagement and advocate to enhance the quality of life within the community.” She has over 26 years’ experience as a business executive.

“The mission of United Rare Earths is to create a domestic reliable and traceable supply of rare earth elements,” Troxel said.

Troxel explained that “rare earth elements are a group of 17 chemically similar elements found on the Periodic Table. They are used in a wide range of high-tech applications, and they are “pivotal for green initiatives.” Rare Earths are essential for products such as laptops, smart phones, wind turbines, electric vehicles and various military and medical uses.

“In fact, rare earth metals are critical to the performance and effectiveness of numerous military systems. The critical role they play in the military systems alone highlights their strategic importance. The United States imports the majority of the rare earth elements that we consume, we are highly dependent on foreign sources. Due to the importance of National Security, and for the supply chain vulnerabilities, rare earth elements are classified as critical minerals on the 2022 critical materials report put out by the United States Geological Survey. Our reliance on foreign supplies prompted initiatives to develop domestic sources and recycling capabilities to ensure a stable supply for civilian and military,” Troxel said.

The global market for rare earths is “expected to grow substantially” and is a “multi-billion-dollar market” despite being a new industry in the United States.

United Rare Earths has plans for a “rare earths hub” in Campbell County and is in the process of establishing the first phase of the three-phase project.

The first phase will be recycling, the second phase will be a “separation facility to separate newly mined materials”, and finally the third phase will be research into sustainable energy.

The first phase includes a 50,000 square foot recycling facility and will bring over “90 high paying jobs and over 300 jobs during construction.”

The recycling facility will recycle “permanent magnets” for rare earth metals. These are the large magnets from wind turbines and electrical vehicles. They will then be recycled into new rare earth permanent magnets and other high-tech applications.

“The energy efficient recycling technology that we will be using was created by Oak Ridge National Laboratories. We have an excellent partnership with Oak Ridge, in fact, when we signed our strategic partnership projects agreement with Oak Ridge, we were told the Department of Energy signed it in record time due to the importance of a domestic supply chain,” Troxel said.

The recycling facility will be created with sustainable energy practices.

Campbell County Rotarians heard from Jennifer Troxel with United Rare Earths at Tuesday’s meeting. Troxel spoke about the exciting new industry that is coming to the county.

“We aim to create a facility that sets a high standard for environmental stewardship in the recycling industry. The standup cost for this state-of-the art facility is an $88 million dollar project,” Troxel said.

United Rare Earths “vision is to position Campbell County and the northeast region of Tennessee as a key player” in this rapidly growing rare earth industry.

“Or partnership with Campbell County truly is important. Everyone we have met has been nothing but kind and beyond supportive. There is a strong love here in this community and we are thrilled to become a part of it,” Troxel said.

She said the company planned to invest in Campbell County through employee volunteer initiatives, donations to youth sports programs, educational grants, apprenticeships and internships, a yearly open house event to “bring the community together” and more.

 “We also aim to invest in the community solar panel project to bring affordable energy to low-income households and we are just getting started. We have big plans for United Rare Earths and our community here. Thank you for welcoming us, there is a bright future ahead,” Troxel said. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED- 08/07/2024-6AM)

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