Tidal Metals and Alexander Chemical Corporation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for marketing, packaging, and distributing chlorine produced as part of Tidal Metals’ process of extracting magnesium from seawater.
Over 90% of primary magnesium metal is produced by China using an environmentally damaging, and energy-intensive refining process for mined magnesium ores. The US and Europe are completely dependent on foreign imports for their primary magnesium metals. Tidal Metals has developed a technology that harvests pure magnesium metal from seawater or desalination waste brine, using only electricity.
The company said its process is low-cost, highly scalable, and environmentally harmless, and Tidal Metals’ CEO, Dr. Howard Yuh, said there is a “near infinite” amount of magnesium in the ocean. But research shows that even a small imbalance where magnesium levels are too low relative to calcium can affect the ecosystem such as making it harder for shellfish to form their shells and can expose corals to bleaching. Such an imbalance can also affect the the ocean’s crust. Though the ocean is vast, it is no more infinite than any other resource that has suffered over-extraction.
Tidal Metals produces nearly three tons of high purity chlorine from every ton of magnesium extracted from seawater.
“Extracting magnesium from seawater economically is a very challenging technical problem which our team has invested eight years of intensive R&D to solve,” Yuh said. ” The Tidal Metals process avoids terrestrial mining and costly chemical inputs and eliminates harmful mining waste streams. “Magnesium is 75% lighter than steel and 33% lighter than aluminum. Magnesium’s light weight and high strength makes it ideal for automotive, robotics, aerospace, and construction.
“This collaboration aligns with our commitment to deliver high-quality chemical solutions while supporting environmentally responsible technologies,” said Robert Davidson, President and CEO of Alexander Chemical Corporation. “We are eager to leverage our marketing and distribution expertise to bring Tidal Metals’ chlorine to market.”
