# Howard Yuh

> Howard Yuh is a plasma physicist turned founder who is trying to break China's grip on magnesium by pulling the metal out of the ocean. As CEO and cofounder of Tidal Metals, the New Jersey deeptech he spun out of his earlier desalination venture GreenBlu, he uses an adsorption temperature-swing vapor pump - a trick borrowed from fusion research - to extract magnesium salt from seawater with only electricity, no mining, and no waste. The company raised $8.5M in seed funding led by DCVC in 2024 and won the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Mining Challenge the same year.

- **Role:** CEO and Cofounder at Tidal Metals
- **Organizations:** Tidal Metals, GreenBlu, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Nova Photonics, Inc.
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** PhD in Nuclear Engineering (Materials Science minor); work in Applied Plasma Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- **Known for:** Original inventor of Tidal Metals' foundational suite of technologies for extracting magnesium from seawater, Developed an adsorption temperature-swing vapor pump described as the most energy-efficient fractional crystallization technology in the world, Raised $8.5M seed funding led by DCVC (total funding reported around $15.2M)

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Completed PhD at MIT, conducting experiments on a high-field tokamak
- **2000s-2010s** — Research physicist at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and Nova Photonics; designed advanced plasma instrumentation for the international ITER tokamak
- **2016** — Founded GreenBlu after independent research into using lower-grade (low-exergy) energy and enabling materials
- **2017** — Cofounded Tidal Metals with Ethan Schartman and Kevin Tritz, fellow scientists from the fusion world
- **2023** — Pivoted the company from desalination toward extracting the minerals - especially magnesium - left behind in the brine
- **2024-09** — Closed $8.5M seed round led by DCVC
- **2024** — Won the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Mining Challenge
- **2025-12** — Signed an MOU with Alexander Chemical to market and distribute chlorine, a co-product of the magnesium process

## Achievements

- Original inventor of Tidal Metals' foundational suite of technologies for extracting magnesium from seawater
- Developed an adsorption temperature-swing vapor pump described as the most energy-efficient fractional crystallization technology in the world
- Raised $8.5M seed funding led by DCVC (total funding reported around $15.2M)
- Winner of the World Economic Forum's Sustainable Mining Challenge (2024)
- Finalist in the U.S. Department of Energy's HeroX Solar Desalination Prize
- Member of the inaugural cohort of the DOE's Oppenheimer Science and Energy Leadership Program
- Designed next-generation plasma instrumentation for the international ITER tokamak
- Well-published fusion researcher on optimizing and measuring plasma current distributions

## Latest updates

- **2025-12** — Tidal Metals and Alexander Chemical Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to market, package, and distribute chlorine, a valuable co-product of the magnesium-from-seawater process.
- **2024-09** — Announced $8.5M seed round led by DCVC, with First Spark Ventures and Bidra Innovation Ventures.

## Links

- Website: https://www.tidalmetals.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/howardyuh/
- YouTube: https://youtu.be/XKdRfaBst6k

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/howard-yuh
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-24