Magrathea, a technology company based in California, signed a sustainable supply agreement with Cargill, one of the world’s leading salt producers. This agreement will support Magrathea’s development of its innovative electrolytic technology for the production of carbon neutral magnesium metal from seawater and brine.
“In partnership with Cargill, we will deliver on our promise of making metal without mining,” said Alex Grant, CEO of Magrathea. “Not just any metal, but inherently carbon neutral light metal that is needed now more than ever for manufacturing lighter, more efficient vehicles. We’re honored to have a renewable seawater-based magnesium supply agreement with Cargill, a company which has operated in the San Francisco Bay for generations.”
The electrolytic method of producing magnesium has a long history in the industry, representing an environmentally sustainable manufacturing process for this critical metal. Magrathea is currently working to develop its new electrolytic technology in the U.S. The company operates a pilot plant and plans to build a demonstration plant, in which they hope to prove their new generation of technology at a commercial scale.
In February, Magrathea announced a $28 million public-private partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense to fund the scale-up of the company’s technology for producing light metal.
Cargill will supply source material during the pilot and demonstration plant scale-up. The company produces sea salt from seawater and naturally produces magnesium co-products that are ideal feedstock for Magrathea’s smelting technology. With Magrathea’s headquarters and R&D operations in the San Francisco Bay Area, this proximity provides the company with an efficient supply chain and a partner who shares key sustainability values. The metal produced by Magrathea from Cargill’s brine will be used in a variety of decarbonization applications.