Bozeman, Montana-based Lattice Materials said that it will use an $18.5 million Pentagon award last month under the Defense Production Act to produce optical-grade germanium and silicon crystals and gear up recycling to produce the germanium metalloid, one of 50 "critical minerals" on the U.S. Geological Survey's 2022 list. In 2022, the Defense Logistics Agency said that its recycling program allowed optical-grade germanium to be reused in new equipment, such as night vision goggles. "As one of very few U.S.-based…