About

RESHORING MAGNESIUM PRODUCTION

Thirty years ago, the United States dominated magnesium production, making half of the world supply with a healthy export market. Most of the magnesium was made from seawater or water from the Great Salt Lake.
China (90%) and Russia (4%) are now the top producers. In 2022, U.S. production of this USDOE Critical Material for Energy fell to less than 2% of global output after the last U.S. producer declared force majeure. For a time, we couldn’t make beer cans because magnesium is part of most aluminum alloys, including the one for cans. Magnesium is also used for steel desulphurization and to make titanium metal from titanium chloride.
Magnesium is used in nearly all U.S. military vehicles, particularly aircraft. In order for automakers to increase usage of magnesium for lightweighting, the supply must be stable, free of geopolitical risk, create zero environmental harm, and have zero embodied carbon. Tidal Metal will be first to market with magnesium meeting all of these criteria.

THE ANSWER IS SEAWATER MINING

Magnesium can be cost-effectively extracted from seawater using Tidal Metals' deep technology. GreenBlu has patented technology to extract magnesium chloride using a temperature-swing adsorption vapor pump without adding any chemicals into the seawater. The same technology is used to create anhydrous MgCl₂ feedstock for electrolysis. Several novel technologies are innovatively combined to create an unlimited supply of low-cost, decarbonized magnesium, the lightest structural metal, using only seawater and electricity. Decades faster than terrestrial mining, we are unlocking the two billion megatons of magnesium that is dissolved in the oceans.

Magnesium metal is the lightest structural metal, weighing 75% less than steel and 33% less than aluminum. Producing magnesium from seawater or desalination waste brine can greatly accelerate decarbonization by lightweighting transportation and enabling hydrogen storage. In 2025, the world is projected to produce 100 million cars and light trucks, weighing about 180 megatons, much of it being steel. About 15 gigatons of CO₂ will be emitted over the lifetime of those vehicles. If we can replace 40 megatons of steel with 10 megatons of magnesium, we can reduced emissions by over 1 gigaton. As we move into more energy intensive mobility such as electric flight and space travel, the effects of lightweighting amplify even further. This is Tidal Metals' mission.

The co-founders at GreenBlu have extensive experience as research scientists/engineers or technical marketing and business development. Each team member has more than 15 years of experience in deeptech product development or technical sales. Our multi-disciplinary understanding of market fit, science, and manufacturing uniquely qualifies us to bring our sustainable seawater magnesium to market.