Hydrogen & Seawater Mining
Powering Through the Blue Economy
NES has developed a patent-pending integrated Sea Water Mining system that produces green hydrogen, extracts lithium and critical minerals, and generates fresh water — all from seawater. Using membrane-less electrolysis, sand-based thermal storage, and ceramic membrane separation, this nexus approach solves freshwater scarcity, eliminates brine waste, and creates multiple revenue streams from a single process.
Blue Economy & The Problem
- Ocean represents 99% of Earth's living volume — if it were a country, GDP would rank 7th globally
- Planned 80 GW hydrogen capacity needs ~110 million cubic metres of pure water
- Reverse Osmosis drawbacks: high electricity, brine waste, carbon footprint
- NES Integrated Nexus Approach produces hydrogen, fresh water, minerals, and electricity from seawater
Sand-Based Thermal Desalination
- Sand battery stores solar energy at 600–1,000°C
- 30% powers infrastructure immediately, 70% stored for overnight use
- More water produced than electrolyzer needs — surplus for drinking/agriculture
- Works with any heat source above 60°C
Membrane-Less Green Hydrogen
- Patent-pending box electrode with perforation — no expensive membranes
- Ni-based electrocatalyst via hydrothermal method at 500°C
- Low cost, scalable, environmentally friendly, highly durable
- India targets 5 million tonnes green hydrogen/year by 2030
Lithium & Mineral Extraction
- Ceramic membrane with crystal structure selectively passes lithium ions
- 3-compartment electrochemical cell with copper cathode coated in engineering carbon
- 42,000-hour membrane life with negligible performance decay
- FePO₄-coated titanium electrode for LiFePO₄ intercalation
- Outputs: Lithium Hydroxide, Magnesium Hydroxide, Calcium Hydroxide, Soda Ash, Chlorine gas, Hydrogen
Cost Analysis
- Only ~€5 of electricity extracts: 1 kg Lithium + 0.87 kg Hydrogen + 2 kg Chlorine
- Plus substantial Magnesium, Calcium, and Lye (NaOH)
- Hydrogen and chlorine value more than offsets electricity cost
- All electricity from captive solar — truly green and carbon-neutral
Applications
Green hydrogen fuelLithium for batteriesIndustrial chlorineDrinking water productionMagnesium for aerospaceCalcium for industrySoda ash productionCarbon-neutral heating