MP Materials Begins Construction on Texas Rare Earth Magnetics Factory to Restore Full U.S. Supply Chain

• MP Materials and General Motors simultaneously announce a definitive supply agreement commencing in late 2023 to produce rare earth alloy and magnets for GM’s EV programs
• The facility will create approximately 150 skilled jobs and approximately 1,300 indirect jobs
• MP Materials’ Texas magnetics facility will source materials from Mountain Pass, California, and produce magnets powering approximately 500,000 EV motors per year, with potential to scale
• The facility is a substantial component of a $700 million investment MP Materials will make to fully restore the U.S. rare earth magnetics supply chain over the next two years
• Integrated recycling and leading environmental capabilities will deliver world class sustainability to support the energy transition

FORT WORTH, TEXAS, April 21, 2022 – MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) today commemorates the start of construction at its first rare earth metal, alloy, and magnet manufacturing facility, located in Fort Worth, Texas. The first-of-its kind U.S. facility is a substantial component of a $700 million investment the company will make over the next two years to fully restore the U.S. rare earth magnetics supply chain. The project will create around 150 high-skill jobs and 1,300 indirect jobs and is located in Hillwood’s 27,000-acre, mixed-use development, AllianceTexas.

In parallel, MP Materials and General Motors (NYSE: GM) are co-announcing a definitive supply agreement to produce alloy and magnets for GM’s EV programs. The definitive supply agreement solidifies the terms of a binding agreement announced by MP Materials and GM in December. Under the long-term agreement, MP Materials will supply U.S.-sourced and manufactured rare earth materials, alloy, and finished magnets for the electric motors in more than a dozen models using GM’s Ultium Platform, with a gradual production ramp that is expected to begin in late 2023, starting with alloy.

MP Materials’ Fort Worth facility will have the capacity to produce approximately 1,000 tonnes of neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets per year, supporting the production of approximately 500,000 EV traction motors, with room to scale. In addition to EVs, NdFeB magnets are critical inputs to robots, wind turbines, drones, defense systems, and many other high-growth technologies. Adamas Intelligence, an independent research firm, forecasts that global demand for NdFeB magnets will triple by 2035 on the back of rising demand for EV traction motors, wind power generators, energy efficient consumer appliances, and more.

In February, the Department of Defense awarded MP Materials $35 million to refine and separate heavy rare earth elements at the company’s Mountain Pass, California, rare earth materials production facility. MP’s Texas magnetics factory will source refined feedstock from Mountain Pass and transform it into finished products, delivering an end-to-end supply chain, including mining and refining, metal, alloy, and magnet manufacturing, and recycling.

Mountain Pass is a closed loop, zero-discharge facility with a dry tailings process that recycles more than 1.7 billion liters of water per year. To optimize for efficiency and sustainability, byproduct generated from alloy and magnet manufacturing will be recycled in a closed loop to every extent possible.

James Litinsky, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, MP Materials

“Bringing magnetics capabilities home is transformational for MP Materials and America’s supply chains. I am very proud that after a series of executive orders spanning multiple presidential administrations MP Materials is leading the restoration of the full supply chain and the revitalization of the American manufacturing spirit in our sector.”

Anirvan Coomer, Executive Director, Global Purchasing & Supply Chain, General Motors

“The new MP Materials magnetics facility in Fort Worth, Texas, will play a key role in GM’s journey to build a secure, scalable, and sustainable EV supply chain. As the foundational automotive customer of the Fort Worth facility, GM will use the products from this plant in the GMC HUMMER EV, Cadillac LYRIQ, Chevrolet Silverado EV, and more than a dozen models based on GM’s Ultium platform. We also look forward to collaborating with MP Materials from a public policy perspective to seek policies that are supportive of the establishment of an efficient U.S.-based rare earth and magnet supply chain.”

Ross Perot Jr., Chairman, Hillwood and The Perot Group

“Today is an exciting day for North Texas and our entire country. MP Materials is not only bringing their state-of-the art magnetics facility to AllianceTexas, but also reshoring important next-generation manufacturing jobs to America. Securing and developing rare earth materials is one of the most important national security issues of our day, and we’re proud that AllianceTexas can partner with MP Materials to play a key role in America’s ability to power its future.”

The Honorable Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator for Texas

“The United States needs to do everything we can to end our dangerous dependence on China for rare earth elements and critical minerals across the entire supply chain. It is both significant and important that MP Materials is going beyond mining and into alloying and manufacturing, and I’m deeply proud of the role Texas is playing in these projects.”

The Honorable Kay Granger, U.S. Representative for Texas

“MP’s investment will bring hundreds of new jobs and millions in economic growth to the TX-12 community. Rare earth materials are crucial for many defense systems, and by producing these much-needed magnets, this facility will reduce our dependence on countries like China. For the sake of our national security, we must continue to increase domestic rare earth production, and I’m proud that we will do that right here in Fort Worth.”

The Honorable Beth Van Duyne, U.S. Representative for Texas

“Rare earth magnets are essential for U.S. economic and national security, and it is vital to our national interest that we manufacture these components at scale here at home. I applaud MP Materials for building this landmark facility in Fort Worth, and I’m pleased that Texas is at the forefront of restoring this important supply chain back to America.”

The Honorable Marc Veasey, U.S. Representative for Texas

“Rare earth magnets are critical to the energy transition and security of the United States. It is essential we manufacture these components in the United States from domestic materials sourced in an environmentally responsible manner. The people of TX-33 are prepared to support and lead this effort.”

The Honorable Michael Burgess, U.S. Representative for Texas

“When it comes to solving the energy crisis facing our nation, we need innovative and visionary solutions at the forefront. It is exciting that Texas is able to welcome another energy provider today with the groundbreaking of MP Materials’ new rare earth alloying and magnet manufacturing facility. I hope you will join me in welcoming MP Materials to our community.”

The Honorable Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas

“Congratulations to MP Materials on the groundbreaking of their new magnet manufacturing facility and engineering headquarters in Fort Worth. This incredible investment will not only create more than 100 new jobs for hardworking Texans, but will also bolster the state’s supply chain in high-tech industries while solidifying Texas as a mecca for advanced manufacturing and innovation. It’s thanks to industry innovators like MP Materials that ‘Made in Texas’ continues to be the most powerful global brand.”

The Honorable Mattie Parker, Mayor of Fort Worth

“This new MP Materials facility is an excellent fit for the groundbreaking work being done at AllianceTexas, and it presents an incredible opportunity to bring more advanced manufacturing jobs home to the U.S. right here in Fort Worth. Our local, state, and national economic and mobility goals require secure development of rare earth magnets, and I am proud that Fort Worth will serve as a center for our nation’s focus on advancing this effort.”

About MP Materials

MP Materials Corp. (NYSE: MP) is the largest producer of rare earth materials in the Western Hemisphere. The Company owns and operates the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility in California, North America’s only active and scaled rare earth production site. Separated rare earth elements are critical inputs to the world’s most powerful and efficient magnets found in electric vehicles, drones, defense systems, wind turbines and various advanced technologies. The Company is developing U.S. metal, alloy and magnet manufacturing capacity to build these critical components domestically. More information is available at https://mpmaterials.com/.

Join the MP Materials community on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

# # #

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains certain statements that are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “will,” “target,” or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the Company’s expected investment to restore the rare earth supply chain in the United States, the expected number of employees and jobs being created in connection with the Company’s Forth Worth facility, statements regarding the long-term agreement with General Motors and the Company’s ability and timing to supply U.S.-produced NdFeB alloy and magnets. Such statements are all subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that could significantly affect the Company’s future financial results and business.

Accordingly, the Company cautions that the forward-looking statements contained herein are qualified by important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected by such statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including changes in domestic and foreign business, market, financial, political and legal conditions; uncertainty of the projected financial information with respect to the Company; continued demand for NdFeB magnets which may decrease materially in the future; risks related to the Company’s long-term agreement with General Motors; the Company’s ability to produce and supply NdFeB magnets to third parties, including General Motors, is subject to a number of uncertainties and contingencies; the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, on any of the foregoing risks; and those risk factors discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this earnings release may not occur.

Contact

Matt Sloustcher

[email protected]

Hillwood hosted the second annual Forward Fort Worth mobility innovation summit early in March this year, a gathering of 150 supply chain executives, entrepreneurs, and investors from across the globe committed to advancing and commercializing mobility innovation throughout the supply chain.

“Now more than ever, surface and air mobility innovation across the supply chain requires a powerful combination of people, places and unparalleled strategic partnerships,” said Hillwood Director of Logistics Innovation Ian Kinne. “The two-day event provided a great opportunity for discussion on the innovative technologies and advancements that will ultimately shape the future of mobility for a wide variety of supply chain stakeholders.”

On March 1st, Mike Berry, president of Hillwood, was joined by Fort Worth Mayor, Mattie Parker and Perot Jain Managing Partner, Anurag Jain to welcome attendees and kick off the program at Hotel Drover in Mule Alley. With the overarching goal of driving cross-stakeholder conversations that accelerate the commercialization of transformative mobility technologies throughout the supply chain, the two-day event featured the following panel topics:
     • Warehouse of the Future 
     • The Integration & Commercialization of Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft
     • The Future of Transportation: OEM Perspective
     • FreightWaves State of the Market
     • Which Comes First, Vehicles or the Infrastructure? 
     • Investing in Technologies for Resilient Supply Chains

Speakers and panelists represented AFWERX, City of Fort Worth, ConGlobal, Crown Castle, DroneUp, FAA Southwest Region, FreightWaves, Gideon, Great Dane, Hillwood, Ironspring Ventures, Joby Aviation, NASA, NFI, Nikola Corp., PepsiCo, Perot Jain, Peterbilt Motors, Robotic Research, Ryder System, Inc., Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, Terberg Taylor Americas, Uber Freight, Visit Fort Worth, and Waabi.

Why it’s important: Hillwood’s Forward Mobility Summit focused on an entire mobility ecosystem and included attendees from various areas of the industry, not just on companies manufacturing eVTOLs or electric vehicles or the IT or software firms that help to coordinate logistical problems; the summit helped to bring together a variety of players that more completely represent multimodal approaches to mobility and who will hopefully be able to leverage one another’s strengths to more efficiently build out the future mobility landscape in Fort Worth and beyond.

Learn more about Hillwood’s focus on convening mobility innovators and visionaries at the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone here.

To help foster partnerships between public and private entities that drive research, new product development, commercialization and supporting activities, Fort Worth City Council approved a new policy on March 21 that defines and guides the formal designation of innovation districts.

According to a city press release, two areas of Fort Worth that were already well-known as clusters of innovation in the city’s target industries—the Fort Worth Medical Innovation District and the Fort Worth Mobility Innovation Zone—were also formally designated as innovation zones.

Innovation districts are specific geographic areas where, according to the press release, clusters of companies and anchor institutions can connect with start-ups, business incubators, and accelerators and producers of marketable intellectual property, and are typically defined by the following characteristics:

Organizations within the district tend to focus on a specific industry or set of interrelated industries.

The district itself is focused on interconnectivity by being—or becoming—walkable and transit-accessible, and offering supporting mixed-use housing, office and retail to create a true “live, work and play” environment.

The district is defined by clear and specific boundaries that include key anchor institutions, such as a university or research hospital, and related businesses that distinguish the area from its surrounding neighborhood.

Fort Worth’s innovation districts must be fully located within the city limits or its extraterritorial jurisdiction.

According to the press release, the terms of Fort Worth’s innovation districts are indefinite, but each district will be evaluated after five years to reassess its boundaries and recommend any changes. The evaluation will also include an analysis of the district’s continued benefit to the city.

The boundaries of the Fort Worth Medical Innovation District includes I-30 and Vickery Boulevard to the north; Allen Street and West Arlington Avenue to the south; east across I-35W to Kentucky and Evans avenues; and west to the Fort Worth & Western Railroad.

The district includes Texas Christian University’s new Anne Marion Burnett School of Medicine, UT Southwestern’s academic medical center, biotech incubator TechFW, Fort Worth’s major hospitals and dozens of independent clinics.

The press release stated the Fort Worth Medical Innovation District will also include several nodes of innovation outside of the district’s boundaries, including the campuses of Texas A&M School of Law, University of North Texas Health Science Center and The University of Texas at Arlington’s Research Institute.

According to the press release, the Fort Worth Mobility Innovation Zone is anchored by Alliance Airport and Alliance Intermodal Facility, and continues north along I-35W near Texas Motor Speedway. It includes the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone—an area that allows for the testing, scaling and commercialization of new technologies in surface and air mobility, along with supporting resources and partnerships.

The MIZ’s unmanned aerial system proving grounds were the testing site for Alphabet’s Wing drone delivery service, according to the press release. The MIZ is home several autonomous trucking operations and logistics companies, including Clevon, an Estonian-based company that develops self-driving robot couriers, that opened in its U.S. headquarters in Fort Worth in late 2022.

Read More

16 March, St. Patrick’s Day eve, Washington DC, following successful operations in Ireland, Manna is commencing a trial in Dallas/Ft.Worth area in partnership with multinational real estate development company Hillwood, to initially offer drone delivery to a select number of Hillwood’s residential developments.  Hillwood is the developer of AllianceTexas, a 27,000-acre mixed-use, master-planned community and home to the Mobility Innovation Zone.  Manna has created a plan to make lightning-fast drone delivery service available to over 10,000 local residents, pending suitable approvals from the FAA.

“As the division of Hillwood that creates a community for generations of Texas families, innovation is one of our guiding principles when we envision and develop Lifestyle by Hillwood^SM communities,” said Fred Balda, president of Hillwood Communities. “We are excited to partner with Hillwood’s Mobility Innovation Zone team and Manna to use new technologies and bring innovation direct to our families’ doorstep.”

“We’re excited to work with Manna as a key operator at the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone, where they can scale and commercialize drone delivery in one of the world’s most unique environments,” said Christopher Ash, senior vice president of aviation business development for Hillwood. “At Hillwood, we are a team collaborating to bring innovative supply chain technologies to North Texas and provide next-level amenities to the communities we reach.”

This move comes in tandem with a strategic investment in  Manna Drone Delivery from Coca-Cola HBC, strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. Through its Ventures arm, Coca-Cola HBC, collaborates with disruptive start-ups that have synergies with its business ambitions in the areas of last mile, vending, coffee technology and sustainability.

Manna is on a mission to improve the world by making lightning-fast suburban deliveries affordable, green and safe. Manna, the world’s leading independent drone delivery startup designs, builds and operates unmanned aerial vehicles that perform high-speed deliveries of up to 3.5 kgs (7lbs) in high-density suburban last-mile settings.

On the partnerships Bobby Healy CEO and Founder of Manna said, “We are delighted to partner with two major brands, Coca-Cola HBC and Hillwood on our journey to bring a new form of delivery to suburban homes and as we start to scale globally. Working with Hillwood who develop technology-forward, innovative lifestyle communities and with Coca-Cola HBC who are committed to more sustainable and advanced delivery solutions is testament to the realisation that last mile delivery can be done in a more efficient, safer and greener way.”

With this partnership and investment, Coca-Cola HBC is at the forefront of revolutionising the route to market. It also supports Coca-Cola HBC’s commitment to achieve net zero emissions across its value chain by 2040, investing in this delivery method that has been proven to emit up to eight times less CO2 compared to car delivery*.

For Manna, the strategic partnership will provide insights and expertise from a market leading beverage company, and over time, the two organisations will work to identify opportunities for Manna to scale across Coca-Cola HBC’s territories.

Zoran Bogdanovic, CEO, Coca-Cola HBC said; “Our investment in Manna Drone Delivery, one of the most innovative drone delivery start-up companies in the world, encapsulates our ambition to deliver our products in new and more sustainable ways.  We are excited about this partnership which allows us to be at the forefront of disruptive technologies across the worldwide consumer packaged goods (CPG) market. Furthermore, with up to eight times less* CO2 compared to car delivery, this partnership with Manna Drones is another step in our journey to achieve net zero emissions across our value chain by 2040.”

Manna is currently serving a Dublin suburb, where the population of 35,000 can be supported with up to 280 deliveries a day and it recently confirmed that it will expand soon to another Dublin suburb, with a population of over 100,000. Making it the largest drone delivery operation in Europe.

Manna is working with the FAA to earn approvals that leverage Manna’s strong progress and demonstrated regulatory success with EASA, Europe’s aviation regulator.

On the announcement  – Leo Varadkar, An Taoiseach  (Irish Prime Minister) “Congratulations to Manna, an Enterprise Ireland client company, on entering the US market, marking the beginning of their global expansion. Manna is a great example of Irish innovation, transforming industries and partnering with global brands. I wish them every success for this new venture.”

adding “I really love to see Irish companies like Manna growing at home and then going global. The fact that Manna is now a foreign direct investor in the US is further evidence that our economic relationship with America is a two-way street”

To date Manna has raised over $40m from investors such as Enterprise Ireland, Molten Ventures, Partners of DST Global ffVC, Dynamo Ventures, and Tapestry VC, CCHBC Ventures, Radius Capital.

Ends

*Manna commissioned a study with the University of Maynooth, which set out to compare the amount of carbon emitted during drone delivery to terrestrial forms of delivery, including cars, motorbikes and electric bikes, and whether drones were the cleanest, most efficient means of last mile delivery. This study showed that Manna’s drone emitted between 6 & 8 times less C02 than a small petrol car (1.4L engine) and that although e-bikes may emit slightly less carbon dioxide, they take twice as long as drones to complete deliveries. You can view the full study here.

About Coca-Cola HBC and Coca-Cola HBC Ventures

Coca-Cola HBC is a growth-focused consumer packaged goods business and strategic bottling partner of The Coca-Cola Company. We create value for all our stakeholders by supporting the socio-economic development of the communities in which we operate, and we believe building a more positive environmental impact is integral to our future growth. Together, we and our customers serve 715 million consumers across a broad geographic footprint of 29 countries. Our portfolio is one of the strongest, broadest and most flexible in the beverage industry, offering consumer-leading beverage brands in the sparkling, juice, water, sport, energy, plant-based, ready-to-drink tea, coffee, adult sparkling and premium spirits categories. These beverages include Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Schweppes, Kinley, Costa Coffee, Valser, Römerquelle, Fanta, Sprite, Powerade, FuzeTea, Dobry, Cappy, Monster and Adez. We foster an open and inclusive work environment amongst our 33,000 employees and we are ranked among the top sustainability performers in ESG benchmarks such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, CDP, MSCI ESG and FTSE4Good.

Through its Ventures arm, Coca-Cola HBC partners with disruptive start-ups in its geographical footprint and beyond and seeks ideas that address the challenges it strives to overcome. The start-up solutions must be relevant to its industry and aligned with its focus areas of Last Mile (B2B, direct to consumer, logistics, customer connections), vending and touchless technology; coffee technology and equipment; and sustainable packaging and climate change. Coca-Cola HBC Ventures invests in the potential of these start-ups and offers a testing ground for ideas, validating and building credibility for their concepts.

For more information, visit Coca-ColaHellenic.com.

About Manna:

Manna is the world’s first aviation-grade B2B drone delivery ‘as-a-service’ company. The Manna drone fleet is operated by Manna directly from the restaurant or dark kitchen premises and is accessible via API to food tech providers and online food platforms alike in a channel-agnostic manner. One fleet for all demand. 

Manna is licensed by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) with a ‘light UAS operator certificate’ (LUC). Manna received the first (LUC) for commercial drone delivery issued by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) & European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), opening up Europe-wide opportunities for the company. Manna also worked with the Irish Government and national health service (HSE) on a pilot test delivering medication to those who needed it to demonstrate the applications of drone delivery.

Manna fly custom-developed aerospace grade drones to deliver products directly to customer’s homes with an average flight time of just three minutes. The drones fly at an altitude of 50-80 metres and at a speed of over 60kph. To date Manna has raised over €40m from investors such as Molten Ventures, Tapestry VC, Partners of DST Global, Dynamo Ventures, ffVC and others.

About AllianceTexas

Developed by Hillwood, AllianceTexas is an unparalleled regional success story that has transformed the North Texas economy and connected the area to global industry. Consisting of 27,000 acres, the development is anchored by the world’s first dedicated industrial airport, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW), and hosts one of the nation’s premier intermodal hubs. Today, AllianceTexas is home to 562 companies that have created more than 66,000 direct jobs and have approximately 55 million square feet of developed commercial real estate assets. The development’s cumulative impact since 1989 is an estimated $111.5 billion for the North Texas region. For additional information, please visit www.alliancetexas.com.

The AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ) spans the 27,000-acre industrial-focused, public-private ecosystem that brings policymakers and industry innovators together to propel surface and air mobility forward. By leveraging its one-of-a-kind infrastructure, the MIZ offers unparalleled resources to comprehensively scale and commercialize the latest logistics and mobility technologies. For more information on the AllianceTexas MIZ and how your organization can be part of this industry-shaping environment, visit www.alliancetexasmiz.com.

About Hillwood Communities

Through its Communities division, Hillwood has delivered close to 50,000 single-family lots in more than 100 master-planned communities across 13 states and 2 countries. These communities continue to raise the bar in terms of quality, innovation, and the unmistakable sense of community that sets each property apart. Before laying the physical groundwork for any new residential development, Hillwood Communities takes the time to focus on the ideals that draw people together — and the everyday interactions that strengthen those bonds. By purposefully designing its walkways, gathering spaces, and structural amenities to spark spontaneous encounters and foster shared interests, Hillwood Communities believes in the power of community. For more information, visit?www.hillwoodcommunities.com.

Manna, the Irish drone delivery start-up, is expanding into the US after securing an investment from Coca-Cola HBC.

The Dublin-based company has been operating in parts of its home city in recent years, carrying out delivery by unmanned drones of food and consumer products like electronics.

It is now launching a trial of its service in the Dallas/Fort Worth area through a partnership with real estate development firm Hillwood.

The pair will test drone delivery within a 27,000-acre mixed-use development in the area.

Approvals from the FAA for the trial are pending.

Ahead of the deal, Coca-Cola HBC, a partner of the soft drink giant, has invested in Manna. Figures for the deal have not been disclosed.

Manna chief executive Bobby Healy said the latest moves are the first steps for the company to scaling internationally.

“Working with Hillwood who develop technology-forward, innovative lifestyle communities and with Coca-Cola HBC who are committed to more sustainable and advanced delivery solutions is testament to the realization that last mile delivery can be done in a more efficient, safer and greener way,” Healy said.

Christopher Ash, senior vice president of aviation business development for Hillwood, said the mixed-use development provides a unique environment to test new technologies.

“At Hillwood, we are a team collaborating to bring innovative supply chain technologies to North Texas and provide next-level amenities to the communities we reach,” he said.

The Coca-Cola HBC investment will also see Manna collaborate with the bottling partner on other new ventures.

Last year Healy said in an interview that Manna would first expand in Europe before looking to the US. It is understood the company is still planning mainland European operations this year.

The trial in Dallas/Fort Worth puts Manna right in the crosshairs of one of its competitors. Israeli drone delivery company Flytrex has been operating in the area in recent years as well as another location in North Carolina, as it focused on the US market first.

Meanwhile Alphabet and Amazon are active in the space. Despite the presence of large tech companies in the field, drone delivery’s market leader position still remains up for grabs, even close to decade after Amazon first unveiled its drone aspirations. Regulatory challenges continue to disrupt Amazon’s plans, according to a recent report.

Manna has previously raised $40 million funding from backers including Dynamo Ventures and Molten Ventures.

Read More

Don’t be surprised if you soon see driverless delivery trucks on North Texas roadways – they’re making food deliveries to three Dallas-Fort Worth area Kroger stores.

The company announced a partnership with autonomous truck delivery company Gatik to deliver the food. Gatik will operate 20-foot trucks that are capable of transporting frozen food seven days a week to make multiple deliveries to three Kroger locations from the company’s Dallas distribution center. 

Kroger is also conducting pilot tests with autonomous vehicle company Nuro to do autonomous home deliveries.

Gatik, headquartered in Mountain View, California, has an operations hub out of the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone in Fort Worth. Gatik also completes deliveries to Sam’s Clubs across DFW, and to Walmarts in Arkansas and Louisiana. It operates 25 trucks in North Texas and 45 nationwide.

Gatik’s partnership with Kroger will start sometime in spring. 

The goal is to increase the speed of fulfilling online orders and reduce costs. Raúl Bujalil, vice president of supply chain strategy and technology enablers at Kroger, said customers will benefit greatly from the partnership. 

“These autonomous box trucks will help us continue our commitment to creating a seamless shopping experience –  where customers can access their favorite fresh foods, with zero compromise on value or convenience,” Bujalil wrote in a statement. 

Trucks will run 12 hours a day, seven days a week and will be doing a minimum of four runs to each of the drop off locations, Gatik spokesman Richard Steiner said. The trucks will start with a “safety driver” before letting the vehicles on the road on its own. 

Safety drivers are important, Steiner said, because they collect a huge amount of data to ensure the delivery truck can navigate the roads without getting into harm’s way. Safety drivers could be in the vehicle anywhere from 19-25 months, he said. 

North Texas is a hub for autonomous vehicles. Aurora Innovation Inc. is collaborating with Werner to launch a 600-mile autonomous truck route from Fort Worth to El Paso. Alphabet’s Waymo opened a hub that operates 20 autonomous trucks in Lancaster, and plans to add a self-driving  route between Fort Worth and Houston. Texas has regulations that promote the industry.

“It’s a really good place for us to be both from the regulatory environment, from the commercial environment,” Steiner said. “We’re looking forward to continuing to lay down very, very deep roots in the state.”

Read More

Bob Bolen is smiling down on us undoubtedly.

Officials with AllianceTexas released a report this week building on data suggesting that Hillwood’s 27,000-acre master-planned, mixed-use community in north Fort Worth continues to be one of the state’s most formidable economic engines, just as the late former Fort Worth mayor predicted when he went to bat for a legacy pet project in the late 1980s.

The numbers, however, might have even surprised him.

According to Insight Research Corp.’s annual economic impact report, AllianceTexas has generated roughly $111.5 billion in regional economic impact, including more than $3.4 billion in total taxes paid to local public entities during the past three decades.

More than $10.88 billion of the development’s economic impact was generated in 2022 alone.

“AllianceTexas is an absolute powerhouse in Fort Worth,” said Mayor Mattie Parker in a statement. “By every metric — job creation, economic impact, property tax contribution, opportunities for innovation and more — AllianceTexas proves itself year after year to be incredibly impactful not only locally, but also across the region, state and country.”

The report showed that the development was responsible for more than $684 million in property taxes paid to the city of Fort Worth since 1990. In 2022, AllianceTexas paid $61.1 million in direct property taxes to the city. Conversely, the city has made investments totaling $133.6 million since 1990.

Property taxes paid to Tarrant County total more than $626 million.

AllianceTexas is home to 562 companies, with more than 55 million square feet of office, retail, and industrial space built since 1989.

Widely considered one of the country’s most successful public-private partnership endeavors, total investment at AllianceTexas surpassed $14.2 billion in 2022, with $13.1 billion coming from the private sector.

Public investment totaling $1.08 billion has been invested in the project to date, representing a 12-to-1 private-to-public-dollar investment multiple.

AllianceTexas encompasses nine municipalities, five independent school districts, and two counties. Since 1990, more than $3.4 billion has been paid in property taxes cumulatively to the cities of Fort Worth, Haslet, Roanoke, Northlake, Westlake and Corral City; Tarrant and Denton counties; and Northwest, Keller, and Argyle independent school districts.

The city of Denton, Denton ISD, the city of Justin and the city of Argyle were not included in the 2022 report, as development is still forthcoming). In 2022 alone, the project contributed nearly $380.3 million in property taxes to these local entities.

“AllianceTexas is primarily a private sector-led economic engine, but what excites us most about the report is the exponential return on public investment evidenced by taxes paid and jobs created now occurring on an annual basis,” said Mike Berry, president of Hillwood. “These are numbers nobody could have ever imagined in 1989.”

The year 2022 was a watershed year.

MP Materials Corp. selected AllianceTexas to construct a first-of-its-kind U.S. factory focused on rare earth metal, alloy and magnet manufacturing. MP Materials is the largest producer of rare earth materials in the Western Hemisphere, and the new manufacturing facility, which encompasses 200,000 square feet, is a substantial component of a $700 million investment the company will make over the next two years to fully restore the U.S. rare earth magnetics supply chain.

The project, which broke ground in June 2022, will create 150 high-skill manufacturing jobs and 1,300 indirect jobs and is slated to begin production operations in 2023.

Hillwood also leased its largest industrial speculative building to date to Target Corp. in May 2022 at Alliance Center East 1. The 1,240,584-square-foot facility lease was ranked the largest industrial lease in the Dallas-Fort Worth market in 2022, according to CoStar.

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. opened its newest Gulfstream Customer Support service center at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in October 2022. Gulfstream invested more than $55 million in the 162,000-square-foot maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility at Alliance. The building includes hangar space, back shops, support areas and employee and customer offices and can accommodate up to nine Gulfstream G650ER aircraft in the hangar space as well as six aircraft on the ramp.

Hillwood finished 2022 with the unveiling of a new fixed-based operation facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The new state-of-the-art FBO was designed by Corgan Architects and Amaze Design and encompasses more than 20,000 square feet of offices, lounges and meeting facilities, along with an additional 68,000 square feet of attached hangar space.

“Our success at Hillwood over the years in developing AllianceTexas as a major job center and economic engine for North Texas is a result of a unique spirit of partnership that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the United States,” said Berry.

The full report is here.

Tarrant County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the United States, making it imperative for transportation systems to keep pace with the continuing swell.

That was the message of the 13th annual Tarrant Transportation Summit hosted by District 3 Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes at the Hurst Convention Center.

From new roads and additional highway lanes to expanded rail capacity more aviation infrastructure, Tarrant County officials have long embraced the challenges to become nationally recognized leaders of cutting-edge solutions to mobility challenges.

This year’s summit was focused on automation and innovation, and provided a look at planned improvements on the horizon to improve mobility through new technologies.

The Feb. 17 event  brought together more than 600 people, including elected officials, municipal administrators and business leaders from the 41 cities within the county.

“There are many needs and so many projects to do and that’s why we all have to come together to get things done for the benefit of the community,” Fickes told the Fort Worth Business Press.

As the fifth-fastest growing county in the United States, Tarrant County’s challenges extend beyond moving people from one point to another. There is also the matter of moving cargo efficiently to reduce backlogs in the supply chain.

While automation is already playing a key role in supporting supply chain operations, plans for a sophisticated “Smart Port” at AllianceTexas were introduced. The port would serve as an “integrated intermodal container yard” and would operate in conjunction with BNSF Railroad, according to Russell Laughlin, executive vice president of strategic development and innovation for Hillwood.

Features of the Smart Port would include a 15-mile “smart” corridor that would incorporate technology to coordinate the arrival of trucks and trains for more efficient transfer of cargo containers. The smart corridor would allow the removal of truck traffic from existing highways, which would reduce highway congestion and air emissions by eliminating the time trucks idle in line waiting to pick up cargo.

Other cutting-edge technology innovations already in use or planned for logistics operations include autonomous vehicles for unloading cargo from trains, visual recognition systems for advance identification of cargo and automated “next-generation” traffic signals, according to Michael Morris, director of transportation for the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

The plan also includes development of a “Texas Connected Freight Corridor” that would integrate with the Alliance Smart Port and support the supply chain nationwide.

“We are located in the shadow of the Port of Long Beach (California.) and the Port of Houston so this is the perfect opportunity for the DFW area,” Morris said.

While Smart Port development is a multimillion-dollar proposition and several years away from reality, Laughlin said the plan would be a game-changer.

“We have the chance to be out-front and have the most advanced inland port in the country in the next few years,” Laughlin said.

Another major traffic-related announcement at the summit involved plans for more lanes to help reduce congestion in the Loop 820/Texas 183 Corridor. A new eastbound lane and a westbound general purpose lane will be added to Loop 820 between Interstate 35W and the Loop 820/State Highway 183 interchange.

Also, new eastbound and westbound TEXPress managed lanes will be added to State Highway 183 between the interchange and FM 157 in Euless.

The expansion was part of the signed agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for the North Texas Express project, said Robert Hinkle, director of corporate affairs for NTE Mobility Partners, which developed the North Tarrant Express and Interstate 35W reconstruction with managed toll lanes.

The expansion is expected to cost up to $350 million and will be finished by 2030, under the terms of the agreement with the state. The first managed lanes opened in 2014 in the highly congested 183/121 corridor. Funding will come from toll revenue.

The additional lanes should help reduce the cost of using the toll lanes, Hinkle said.

While this project is able to move forward due to prior commitments, TxDOT can no longer participate in public-private partnerships like the North Tarrant Express because public opposition to tolls resulted in a ban by the Texas Legislature, keynote speaker Robert Poole stated.

Poole, director of transportation policy and Searle Freedom Transportation Fellow at the Florida-based Reason Foundation, is an advocate for public-private partnerships and toll-revenue financing.

Texas pioneered public-private partnerships for new highway construction and expansion through public-private partnership agreements.

“Public-private partnerships are a better model for how we select, build and maintain highway projects in the U.S.,” said Poole, who has been an advisor to the Federal Highway Administration and many leading state and national transportation agencies.

Traditional forms of highway funding, typically relying on user fees and fuel tax revenue, have led to chronic congestion, especially in fast-growing states like Texas,  said Poole, who is author of the book, Rethinking America’s Highways: A 21st Century Vision for Better Infrastructure.

A better approach is to treat highways as a utility, he said, with customers paying for what they use. Projects are financed with customer revenues and ongoing maintenance is built into the financing.

Nationwide, more than 60 public-private partnership projects involving express toll lanes, sometimes known as “choice lanes” are in operation. Proven advantages, Poole said, include reducing traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, and a solution for express bus service.

While other states are moving ahead with these types of projects, TxDOT has plans to add tax-funded high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, Poole said.

HOV lanes tend to be “too full or too empty” and haven’t lived up to expectations, he said.

The Texas Legislature should reconsider the benefits of resuming public-private partnerships, which have been highly successful in Texas, including Tarrant County, and have an added benefit of freeing up $6.5 billion for TxDOT to spend on projects in smaller cities and rural areas.

In a presentation on progress and investment at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, John Ackerman, executive vice president of global strategy and development, reported that $2.3 billion will be spent on airport infrastructure improvements through 2032 and another $2.7 billion will be spent on terminal expansion.

Over the past eight years, the airport has undertaken 882 infrastructure projects through an investment of $3.8 billion. The initiative resulted in the creation of 32,000 jobs.

During most of the pandemic, DFW was the busiest airport in the world and now ranks second in the world for number of passengers. In 2022, the airport welcomed 72.2 million passengers, Ackerman said.

Also during the pandemic, the airport broadened its route network to 265 destinations and kept its pledge of no job layoffs, he said.

Perot Field, formerly Alliance Airport, was ranked 20th in 2021 (the latest ranking announced) although many of it competitors are all “major traffic hubs”, according to Christian Childs, president of Alliance Aviation Companies.

In 2018, the airport handled slightly under 1 billion pounds of cargo. Although 2022 data isn’t yet official, the airport’s numbers indicate that cargo weight exceeded 2.5 billion pounds.

“During the pandemic, our cargo load went through the roof,” Childs said.

Caroline Mays, director of planning and modal programs for TxDOT, presented data on how all forms of transportation, including seaports, public transit, freight rail, and aviation fit together and have an enormous impact on economic output, jobs and population growth as well as moving goods and people from point-to-point.

Tarrant County Administrator G.K. Maenius and Lauren Prieur, interim director of transportation and public works for the city of Fort Worth, discussed how funds from county and city bond programs are being used to build or upgrade roads, bridges and traffic signal controls to improve traffic flow and safety.

Funds from federal Infrastructure legislation are also being leveraged through many regional transportation projects. Read More

For 13 years, I’ve been privileged to host the Tarrant Transportation Summit, and I’ve come away from every experience impressed at the mobility advancements and the great minds we attract to Tarrant County and our state. The Feb. 17 summit at the Hurst Conference Center was no exception. Our audience of 600-plus came away excited to see the progress being made today and what the future holds for mobility in Tarrant County.

Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare summed up the county’s place in future transportation initiatives: “My goal is to ensure that those in this room today – entrepreneurs, innovators, public officials, policymakers and partners – have the tools needed to propel Tarrant County to even greater heights.”

This year’s theme was “Automate, Accelerate, Elevate & Innovate: The Center of Global Mobility.” From our panelists to our keynote speaker, Robert Poole of the Reason Foundation, the summit this year focused on how Tarrant County’s environment allows innovators and entrepreneurs to test and implement the latest technologies with our local communities reaping the benefits. Our audience learned what technology and tools are being used to advance mobility locally and globally through insightful speakers and panelists.

Our panelists discussed the importance of the present and future of mobility in Tarrant County. To discuss how automation is making our supply chains resilient and robust – key elements in keeping commerce flowing and our national security strong – we were fortunate to have Michael Morris, Transportation Director at the North Central Texas Council of Governments; Brant Ring, CEO of ConGlobal; and Tyler Duval, CEO and Co-Founder of Cavnue. The panel discussed a proposal to use technology and existing infrastructure to automate logistics operations in the Alliance area. Autonomous vehicles, said Mr. Duval, are already being used in heavy industrial environments around the world and could benefit supply chain security and resiliency.

We received an update on how the 2021 Tarrant County bond election is putting needed funding into vital transportation projects around the county. Describing the recent transportation bond, Tarrant County Administrator G.K. Maenius said, “So when you look at our bond program, we tried to become more extensive than we were in 2006.” Fort Worth Interim Director of Transportation and Public Works Lauren Prieur expressed enthusiasm for the projects that the city would be able to complete with its bond program.

DFW International Airport Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Development John Ackerman and Alliance Aviation President Christian Childs spoke about the impressive investments their airports are making. DFW Airport weathered the COVID-19 pandemic without layoffs and has emerged stronger than before, with terminal improvements on the way. Similarly, Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport experienced tremendous growth and is becoming a test area for exciting new aviation technologies.

Speaking for TxDOT, Caroline Mays addressed how multimodal transportation can aid economic development. Ms. Mays reviewed how our state’s tremendous population growth has fueled transportation demands across multiple modes of transportation. “TxDOT is in the business of multimodal transportation planning to facilitate multimodal movement of people and goods throughout the state of Texas,” she said.

This year, we recognized two of our sponsors, Cintra TEXpress and Hillwood, for their longstanding support for the Tarrant Transportation Summit and for improving transportation in Tarrant County and across the state.

Experienced group of mobility innovators, entrepreneurs and policymakers, including: Russell Laughlin, Executive Vice President, Hillwood; Victor Vandergriff, Executive Director, Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition; Johan C. Petterson, Principal, Corporate Development, DEC; Lindsay Mullins, Executive Director, State Government Affairs, BNSF Railway; Robert Hinkle, Director of Corporate Affairs, NTE Mobility Partners LLC and LBJ Infrastructure Group LLC; Tyler Duvall, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Cavnue; Michael Morris, PE, Transportation Director, North Central Texas Council of Governments; Brant Ring, Chief Executive Officer, ConGlobal; G.K. Maenius, County Administrator, Tarrant County; Lauren Prieur, Interim Director, Transportation and Public Works, City of Fort Worth; John Ackerman, Executive Vice President of Global Strategy and Development, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; Christian Childs, President, Alliance Aviation Companies; Caroline Mays, AICP, Director, Planning and Modal Programs, Texas Department of Transportation; Brooke Akins, Director of Global ESG, Cintra; Craig Hulse, Director of Economic Development, North Richland Hills; John Huffman, Mayor, Southlake; Tim O’Hare, Tarrant County Judge.

Gary Fickes has been a member of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court since 2006 representing Precinct 3, which includes two major airports and several major freeways. He is a former mayor of Southlake and past chair of the Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition and Regional Transportation Council through the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

As companies strive to meet consumers’ expectations for everything on demand, we’re seeing strategic shifts to optimize logistics from the warehouse to the front door. While these developments are often the hallmark of larger enterprises, real estate firms and midmarket companies alike can still innovate their operations with the right investments and suppliers. 

“When considering the future of e-commerce, the focus is often on the digital experience,” said Al Brooks, Head of JPMorgan Chase Commercial Real Estate. “But the most meaningful change is happening outside the consumer’s view, in a company’s physical operations.” 

Those that move first stand to gain a competitive advantage. Opportunities are emerging in three areas: 

• Warehouse location
• Warehouse functionality
• Transportation

The shifting landscape of warehousing

In logistics, location is everything. To accommodate same-day or same-hour delivery, companies are reconsidering the positioning of their warehouses and shifting away from large, highly centralized facilities. 

Urban warehousing

Companies are repurposing dormant urban buildings into last-mile distribution centers. For companies that already have footprints in cities, it might mean adapting part of an existing space to include micro-fulfillment areas. But for most companies, it means identifying unused buildings. 

Some of these older, presumed obsolete buildings are the most valuable—they sit right in the middle of the urban core. We don’t see this trend slowing down. – Al Brooks, Head of JPMorgan Chase Commercial Real Estate

This demand is increasing both property values and operational costs. As volume decreases within each location, companies should remain focused on inventory management, leveraging data to inform what products should occupy the limited spaces. 

Secondary markets on the rise

Demand for warehousing space near secondary markets has grown. And as companies diversify their supply chains, new industrial hubs are emerging along the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Laredo, Texas, for example, is now one of the largest inland ports in North America. “The emergence of Laredo shows companies are investing in the supply routes connecting the U.S. and Mexico,” said Reon Roski, CEO of Majestic Realty, a commercial real estate developer. “This approach could help prevent companies from becoming overreliant on just one or two suppliers in their global networks.” 

Warehouses of the future

E-commerce, sustainability and new technology are influencing how companies adapt and design the warehouse space. Here are some ways business leaders are planning for the future: 

Solving the trucking bottleneck: Dan Lewis, CEO and Co-Founder of Convoy, a digital freight network, sees opportunities for trailers to pre-position, load up and roll out of warehouses more efficiently. Trucks could enter and exit warehouses autonomously, which might also warrant more parking in and outside facilities. 

Integrating robotics: The use of warehouse robotics is expected to grow by at least 50% over the next five years, according to the 2022 MHI Annual Industry Report. With robots becoming cheaper and more accessible, particularly as robotics-as-a-service becomes more available, some of Roski’s clients are aiming to be fully automated, while others are taking a hybrid approach where humans and machines work alongside one another.

Going electric: An emphasis on environmental, social and governance and carbon reduction initiatives—and an increasingly electric fleet—will require increased electrical capacity.

Increasing visibility: Real-time inventory tracking and warehouse management systems are driving visibility and efficiency. Warehouses may even move beyond the physical world into virtual environments, where companies can test operational changes on their digital twins. 

Innovations along delivery’s last mile

Final-mile logistics now account for an estimated 53% of the total cost of shipping, according to Insider Intelligence. Motivated to lower costs while meeting customers’ demands for prompt delivery, companies are forging ahead with both proven and new technologies—on the ground and in the sky. 

Collaboration across the public sector, private companies and communities is the only recipe for innovation in the last mile, according to Chris Ash, Senior Vice President at Hillwood, a Texas-based real estate developer and the developer of AllianceTexas. 

“Interoperability is key. Outside that short list of large companies that can afford to develop their own hardware and software, the majority of the industry is going to have to lean on each other.”

Autonomous technology

Autonomous technology has three key benefits: cost reduction, safety and efficiency. In current use, it’s most effective in repeatable segments of the supply chain, according to Ian Kinne, Director of Logistics Innovation at Hillwood. Hillwood has been working to integrate autonomous drayage where containers are moved from an intermodal port to a warehouse and has been deploying autonomous last-mile technology within its AllianceTexas development.

Electrifying the fleet

To help keep a lid on fuel costs and stay ahead of potential future regulation, more trucks are going electric. Electric trucks require less maintenance and offer an enhanced driving experience. But adoption among heavy-duty freight trucking may depend on the costs and capabilities—and the availability of truck-friendly charging stations.

Drone delivery

Drone delivery is already increasing market share, albeit with infrastructure, regulation and consumer appeal obstacles to overcome. In 2021, Hillwood partnered with Wing on a small pilot to tackle aerial advancement in last-mile logistics. Ash believes it has proven the potential and sees drones becoming one more delivery option at checkout for specific use cases in retail or healthcare. 

What’s next?

This everything-on-demand culture is driving innovation along the supply chain. Companies across industries have a rare opportunity to find partners that can shape this reality and set a new standard for their peers.