The capability exists in the U.S. today. What's been missing is the mechanism to route a program-office requirement to the right domestic maker fast enough to matter. The Coalition is that mechanism.
The chemistry is known. The capacity, in aggregate, exists in the United States today. The Department of War's critical-chemicals mission is not failing for lack of American chemists or American reactors. It is failing for lack of a mechanism to route the right requirement to the right domestic maker on the right timeline.
Program offices have been left to canvass suppliers one at a time. When a domestic source disappears or a foreign source becomes unacceptable, the government restarts a bespoke search — every time, from scratch. That is not a supply chain. That is an accident waiting to happen.
Across specialty synthesis, energetics, oxidizers, organometallics, fluorochemicals, and critical materials, capable U.S. manufacturers are already in operation. Individually, each is one supplier among many. Together, coordinated, they are a qualified domestic slate the government can plan around.
The Coalition is a coordinating mechanism, not a new manufacturer. One intake. One capability read. Routing to the member firm best positioned to execute — with the other four members already vetted and standing by as backups, scale-up partners, or qualification support.
Each member is an independently operated U.S. manufacturer with its own facilities, customers, and quality systems. Click through to learn more about any member firm.
Chemical process research, development, and specialty manufacturing services based in South Charleston, WV. Capabilities span process development and scale-up, custom chemicals manufacturing, technical engineering, and pilot-plant operations, with customer IP retained by the customer.
Visit avncorp.comCustom chemical toll manufacturer serving the specialty, fine, and agrochemical markets since 1983. Its Marinette, WI campus operates more than forty reactors across multiple production buildings on a 24/7 basis, with in-house technical and quality-control staff.
Visit chemdesign.comU.S. manufacturer of inorganic, organic, and analytical chemistries operating from Powell and Columbus, OH since 1928. Product range includes perchloric acid and high-purity perchlorate salts, rare-earth chemistry (cerium, lanthanum, yttrium, gadolinium), and more than 10,000 catalog items.
Visit gfschemicals.comFine-organics manufacturer in Estill, SC producing a wide range of organic compounds with particular emphasis on fluorine and sulfur chemistry. Offers custom synthesis and bulk production alongside its catalog, backed by an in-house analytical lab and a working relationship with the University of South Carolina.
Visit oakwoodchemical.comTwenty-plus-year supplier of organometallic reagents and one of the largest boronic-acid producers to the pharmaceutical industry. Operates chemical toll-manufacturing facilities in Douglas, GA and Belle, WV, with production scale from grams to multi-metric tons across development and commercial programs.
Visit optimachem.comThe offer is execution — not a single molecule. Where the chemistry is known and the design-around is public, the constraint is a domestic maker who can execute, integrate, hit the line fast, and de-risk qualification.
| Member firm | Energetics & propellant precursors | Oxidizers & pyrotechnic salts | Organometallics | Fluorochemicals & specialty synthesis | Critical materials & rare earths | Custom scale-up & qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVN CorporationEnergetics · continuous-flow | — | — | — | |||
| ChemDesignReactor breadth · custom manufacturing | — | |||||
| GFS ChemicalsPerchlorates, cerium, rare earths | — | — | ||||
| Oakwood ChemicalFluorine · sulfur · custom synthesis | — | — | ||||
| Optima ChemicalOrganometallics · boronic acids | — | — |
Capability designations are pending member sign-off prior to public release.
Bring a requirement to one door. The right domestic maker takes the lead. The rest of the slate backs scale-up and qualification.
Bring your requirement — molecule, volume, timeline — to the coalition. A single point of contact routes it, so you don't have to canvass five suppliers.
The member firm best positioned on capability and cost takes it. The other members back scale-up and qualification. No foreign dependency in the chain.
The value is a qualified alternative to a single or foreign source — execution, speed-to-line, and qualification support across a vetted slate of U.S. makers.
One point of contact for program offices, primes, and sponsors. Inquiries route from August Grace to the member firm best positioned to respond.
Program offices don't have time to canvass five suppliers, chase five NDAs, and reconcile five capability slides. The coalition consolidates that work into a single conversation — one intake, one qualification framework, one routing decision.
August Grace convenes the members, holds the capability read, and makes the routing call. Once a member is engaged, the relationship runs member-to-customer on the member's own paper. The coalition doesn't sit between the two.
Email the coalition. We route your inquiry to the member firm best positioned to answer.
coalition@uscriticalchemistrycoalition.comMeet us at DIBx — DIB Accelerator 2026, Philadelphia · August 25–27.