Seamoretech

Seamoretech is a deep-tech startup launched in 2021 as a spin-off of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP, Portugal) on a mission to accelerate the transition toward sustainable desalination. At Seamoretech, we are transforming the by-product brine from desalination plants into a valuable resource. Through a zero-liquid discharge strategy, we produce additional freshwater while selectively extracting high-quality and critical minerals from brine (Mg, Li), eliminating its harmful disposal and thus, creating a responsible source of raw materials for various industries. 
 

Indeed, while desalination offers a solution to freshwater scarcity, the current practice of disposing of the brine solution back into the environment, typically in the ocean, represents a critical threat to the environment. Since seawater desalination through reverse osmosis is a not-so-efficient technology (40 % efficiency), more than 143 million cubic meters of brine are discharged daily in the world. By effectively converting a waste stream into a usable resource, we are contributing to a more sustainable future for desalination, effectively doubling the water production capacity of desalination systems. 

Besides, through our technology, we are able to transform the harmful brine into valuable materials by selectively purifying calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), lithium (Li), sodium (Na), and others, which are crucial to several industries and mostly designated as "critical raw materials" due to their limited availability and high strategic importance. Therefore, our process ensures a steady, decentralized supply of minerals, which helps stabilize market fluctuations. This stability is particularly advantageous for end-users, who can rely on a more consistent product and pricing.

Overall, we believe our technology is unique in 3 specific dimensions: 1) faster deployment times, as we are optimizing the design of the system to be compact, containerized, and easy to install, without disrupting existing desalination processes 2) continuous operation, through installing machine learning methods, our target is to minimize downtimes while increasing production, 3) low energy consumption due to its entirely membrane-based design. Our processes are driven by gradient concentrations and spontaneous chemical reactions, eliminating the need for energy-intensive, pressure-driven, or electrochemical methods. Our solution consumes up to 2 kWh/m3 of treated brine, making it less energy-intensive than traditional reverse osmosis (ca. – 40-50 %) while producing more high-quality freshwater and selectively extracting highly valuable minerals with high purity.