# Alex Grant

> Alex Grant is the co-founder and CEO of Magrathea, an Oakland-based startup building a new electrolytic process to make magnesium metal from seawater and brine with near-zero carbon emissions. A chemical engineer who previously founded lithium-extraction company Lilac Solutions and modeled battery supply chains at Minviro, Grant started Magrathea in 2022 to reshore US magnesium production. What began as a climate play turned into a national-security one: after Russia's invasion of Ukraine tightened global magnesium supply, Magrathea won a Defense Production Act partnership with the US Department of Defense. He was a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Energy in 2021.

- **Role:** Co-founder & CEO at Magrathea
- **Organizations:** Magrathea, Lilac Solutions, Minviro, Jade Cove Partners
- **From:** Canada
- **Nationality:** Canadian
- **Education:** M.S., Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, B.Eng., Chemical Engineering & Philosophy, McGill University
- **Known for:** Co-founded and leads Magrathea, developing a modern electrolytic process for magnesium metal, Won a Defense Production Act Title III partnership with the US Department of Defense (~$28M), Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2021)

## Career timeline

- **2021** — Named Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Energy
- **2022** — Founded Magrathea in San Francisco to make magnesium from seawater and brine
- **2023** — Magrathea raised roughly $10M seed round for its electrolytic magnesium technology
- **2023** — Secured Defense Production Act Title III partnership with the US Department of Defense
- **2025** — Independent life cycle assessment found potential for net-zero emissions magnesium; announced pre-purchase deal with a major automaker
- **2026** — Building demonstration plant in Utah, targeting 1,000 tons annually by 2027

## Achievements

- Co-founded and leads Magrathea, developing a modern electrolytic process for magnesium metal
- Won a Defense Production Act Title III partnership with the US Department of Defense (~$28M)
- Forbes 30 Under 30 in Energy (2021)
- Co-founded Lilac Solutions, a lithium extraction technology company
- Built the first embodied-carbon assessment for Tesla batteries while at Minviro

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Magrathea's latest reported Series A funding round (~$24M raised at that milestone) per company records.
- **2026-01** — Interview published on YouTube discussing reshoring US magnesium production.
- **2025-12** — Featured in C&EN coverage of US startups advancing domestic magnesium plans.

## Links

- Website: https://magratheametals.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/biglithium
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/magratheametals

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alex-grant
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-16