Amaero, Niobium, and the CTEP 2025 Deal of the Year

As EXIM’s Senior Vice President for the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP), I was honored to announce at our 2025 Annual Conference in April that Amaero had been selected as the CTEP Deal of the Year. That moment was more than a ceremonial highlight—it was a clear example of how the program is designed to operate at the intersection of U.S. industrial policy, national security, and strategic competition. 

Make More in America

Earlier this year, EXIM’s Board approved financing to support Amaero’s new state-of-the-art facility in McDonald, Tennessee. The project is supported through EXIM’s Make More in America (MMIA) initiative, which provides domestic financing to help reshore critical manufacturing and create U.S. jobs in sectors vital to economic and national security. With this investment, Amaero will begin producing advanced metal powders, a key input for various sectors including aerospace and defense, enhancing domestic industrial capacity in a strategically significant sector. This achievement reflects the close collaboration between our underwriting and CTEP teams, whose expertise and dedication were instrumental in bringing this deal to fruition. 

This financing supports the goals of EXIM’s China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP). The program was designed to bolster U.S. exporters in key industries that will shape future technological and economic leadership. By enhancing the competitiveness and security of the United States in key transformational sectors, CTEP aligns closely with Amaero’s corporate strategy. Together, they address priority policy initiatives of the Trump Administration while advancing the resilience and scalability of sovereign manufacturing and supply chain capabilities.

CTEP in Action

Advanced manufacturing of specialty metals and alloys falls squarely into this category. These materials are the building blocks of aerospace propulsion systems, hypersonic platforms, space launch vehicles, and other defense applications that demand extreme performance under the harshest conditions. If the United States cannot produce these inputs domestically, we risk ceding not just market share, but the strategic high ground. 

Amaero’s project is a strong example of the CTEP mandate in action. The company is establishing a new facility in Tennessee to produce critical metal powders, including C103 (a niobium-based alloy), other refractory metal alloys, and titanium alloys, materials that are essential for high-performance applications but have historically been sourced from foreign suppliers. By developing this capability domestically, the project helps close a significant supply chain vulnerability, reduces reliance on imports, and reinforces the U.S. industrial base for defense, aerospace, and space systems.

What is Niobium?

Niobium, a key input in Amaero’s production, is often unfamiliar to those outside technical fields but is vital to U.S. technological competitiveness. This critical mineral significantly improves the strength, heat resistance, and performance of alloys used in advanced aerospace, defense, and energy systems, paralleling the specialized powders Amaero will manufacture.

By honoring Amaero as EXIM’s 2025 CTEP Deal of the Year, we not only recognize this company’s individual achievement, but we also show what it looks like when U.S. industrial and export finance policy aligns with national security priorities. This is CTEP’s mission in practice: ensure that America not only competes but leads in industries that will shape the geopolitical balance of the 21st century.