Reshoring critical metal production
TL;DR — China and Russia control world’s critical minerals. We can produce Titanium, Magnesium, Aluminum, Zirconium & Hafnium in the U.S. more profitably than any existing process, and carbon neutrally. On track to supply 12% of U.S. magnesium by 2029, at 50%+ EBITDA margins (@ world’s lowest mkt prices).
Hi all, we’re Berkley and Brenden of Duranium, and we’re delivering American critical mineral independence with a light-weight metal production process that competes globally without subsidies. As brothers-in-law, we’re passionate about rebuilding the U.S. industrial base — not through taxes and subsidies, but through real technological innovation. Our mission is to help America reclaim its place as the world’s greatest builder of tangible things.
❌ The Problem
Magnesium, titanium, aluminum, hafnium, and zirconium are all listed on the DOE’s Critical Minerals List, with magnesium ranked among the highest in both supply risk and strategic importance to U.S. energy security. The U.S. has zero domestic magnesium production and no titanium sponge production — yet both are indispensable for fighter jets, missiles, satellites, rockets, and advanced aerospace systems.
China and Russia control ~97% of magnesium and ~90% of titanium production (directly or indirectly).
On top of that, U.S. magnesium costs nearly 3x the global average, and legacy methods are CO₂-intensive and waste valuable byproducts.
✨ Our Solution
We’ve modernized carbochlorination metallurgy (the primary methods for producing many of these critical metals) with a novel reactor and process that:
- Creates a closed-loop system that profitably matches Chinese pricing — without subsidies — and slashes emissions
- Recycles CO₂ emissions into CO feedstock
- Generates a valuable co-product (bleaching agents)
Others are trying to reinvent lightweight metal production from scratch with approaches that are costly and dependent on government subsidies or green premiums to hit profitability. Our approach is different: we harness the laws of thermodynamics instead of fighting them, co-producing valuable outputs that make the economics best-in-class.
🏆 What we’ve achieved so far and where we’re headed
- We’ve proven the process at benchtop scale, producing magnesium, bleaching agents, and converting CO₂ produced by carbochlorination into CO
- We are now scaling with the build of a pilot facility to be operational by June 2026
- We’re on track to supply 12% of U.S. magnesium by 2029, at 50%+ EBITDA margins (@ world’s lowest mkt prices)
👥 Our Team
Berkley, CTO — A leading American expert in magnesium production; holds a patent for an electrochemical metal cell and built the only U.S. pilot magnesium electrolyzer in the last 20+ years. Brings unmatched technical depth in lightweight metal production
Brenden, CEO — Former McKinsey D.C. consultant, where he advised the DoD on reshoring critical chemical production and spent 1 year with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Ex-Goldman TMT investment banker, Stanford Law graduate and Knight-Hennessy Scholar
🙏 Asks
Join our team! We’re looking for engineers with experience in high-temperature or corrosive reactors. If that’s you — or someone you know — and you want to help build the future of lightweight metal production, get in touch!
