Breaking story by Fast Company Magazine--. A new initiative from Blue Evolution, called Orca Minerals, aims to harvest the materials. (Excerpt only)
On farms off the coast of Alaska and in Mexico, a company called Blue Evolution grows seaweed used in food and skincare products. But five years ago, while studying the potential for seaweed to be used in bioenergy, the company discovered something else: The algae also contains critical minerals.
The research, conducted with Pacific Northwest National Labs, identified the presence of scandium, an expensive rare earth element that’s produced in tiny volumes globally. The seaweed also contains other rare earth elements and platinum group metals that can be used to make products ranging from EV batteries to motors for wind turbines. “That generated a lot of excitement,” says Beau Perry, CEO of Blue Evolution. “Everyone was like, ‘Can you mine with seaweed?’”
The company undertook more research into the area, and today it launched a new initiative, Orca Minerals, that’s focused on the new form of mining. Instead of blasting rocks or the seabed, the process makes use of the fact that seaweed naturally absorbs minerals from seawater as it grows.
At its lab in San Jose, the company is analyzing samples of seaweed that it grows in seawater tanks on the Mexican coast and in the ocean in Alaska. With the right location, and the right strain of seaweed, Perry says, it’s possible to harvest meaningful amounts of certain minerals. The team identifies and selectively breeds seaweed strains, and is currently analyzing one of those proprietary strains. To read the full story expertly told by Senior Editor, Adele Peters, please visit: FAST COMPANY.