Scandium-mining company invests in Agni Semiconductor
Sunrise Energy Metals, an Australian mining company, has invested $5m in US-based Agni Semiconductor, a developer of AlScN-based next-generation non-volatile memory chips.
Sunrise's Syerston Scandium Project, in New South Wales, is the world’s only mine under development solely targeting scandium as a primary supply, instead of scandium as a byproduct. The deposit holds over 32,000 tonnes of contained scandium: enough to meet global demand for decades to come, according to the company.
Scandium has many applications including in the critical energy and defence sectors. China currently controls 80-85 percent the world’s scandium supply and still places restrictions on its exportation for defence purposes (despite scaling back many of its other restrictions in November 2025). China is currently the only supplier globally of refined scandium metal used by the semiconductor industry.
Sunrise Chairman Robert Friedland explained that the investment marks a shift in Sunrise’s strategy, “moving from a pure strategic metal producer to an active participant in the technologies that will shape future demand for scandium."
Agni's AlScN memory technology was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, with scientists from Sandia National Laboratories and Brookhaven National Laboratory. The architecture allows processing and storage to occur in the same place, eliminating transfer time as well as minimising energy consumption.
Agni says its chips excel in speed, power efficiency, and high-temperature environments for applications in AI, aerospace, automotive, and beyond.
