Our modular demonstration — engineered to prove the model before we build at commercial scale.
From pilot validation to first commercial plant.
We are deliberately not committing to a public commercial date. Timelines emerge from demonstration results — and we would rather be reliable in delivery than aggressive in projection. The coloured segment reflects progress toward the demonstration, which is in preparation; it is not yet operating.
A community-led demonstration that takes the process into the Mediterranean.
Project ALKALION is a community‑led deployment and scale‑up project, involving local businesses (Suma), Science (University of Málaga), the local Port authority and an international company (Ocean Ionics).
This project proposes an innovative Ocean Acidity Neutralisation solution. ALKALION addresses the Mediterranean Sea’s (1) accelerating acidification and the environmental burden of (2) desalination brine discharges by deploying and (3) demonstrating a continuous, real‑world process that restores local seawater chemistry and (4) enhances the sea’s natural capacity to absorb atmospheric CO₂, as a carbon dioxide removal technique (CDR).
The core solution combines an onshore electrodialysis system using bipolar membranes (EDBM) with an offshore Marine Environmental Data & Underwater Sampling Apparatus (MEDUSA) buoy outside the harbour of Estepona (Málaga, Spain). Seawater is processed to generate an alkaline stream, which is returned to the marine environment to increase alkalinity and decrease acidification, while the acidic co‑product is neutralised onshore through controlled olivine mineral dissolution. This creates a closed, circular process, producing low‑carbon mineral by‑products and zero-waste.
By integrating cutting‑edge electrochemistry and innovative hydrometallurgy with scientific analysis and knowledge, local governance, citizen engagement and transparent monitoring, ALKALION delivers a tangible Mission Ocean intervention that can be replicated across the Mediterranean to restore marine health and support a sustainable, carbon‑neutral blue economy.
What the demonstration is designed to show
- Measurable local improvement in seawater chemistry — pH, total alkalinity, pCO2, and dissolved inorganic carbon — against a reference control site.
- Reliable, continuous operation of the EDBM and MEDUSA systems in real marine conditions.
- An independent, comprehensive environmental-impact assessment of the effect on local sea life.
- Permanent removal of atmospheric CO2, stored durably as dissolved inorganic carbon — the validated basis for scaling to Ocean Ionics One.
- Open, FAIR-principle data and a replication model for other Mediterranean coastal and port sites.
Process parameters, operating windows, equipment specifications, and detailed mass balances are held confidential and shared with qualified partners under NDA.
A community-led partnership — industry, science, and the local port.
Four partners co-design, host, and operate the demonstration together over 24 months.
Ocean Ionics BV
Netherlands
Consortium lead · Solution provider
Technology developer and project coordinator. Provides the electrochemical process and the EDBM and MEDUSA systems, and is accountable for overall delivery of the demonstration.
University of Málaga
Spain
Scientific partner · Community representative
Leads the marine-ecosystem study, the monitoring methodology, and the independent scientific review that underpin the project's environmental claims.
Suma Ocean Solutions SL
Spain
Solution adopter · Community representative
Local company leading on-the-ground delivery: permitting, harbour-site preparation, commissioning, and day-to-day operation of the system — and coordinating with local authorities and the Estepona community.
Estepona Port Authority
Spain
Solution adopter · Community representative
Provides the marine access and port infrastructure at Estepona that host the demonstration, and a real-world operating environment representative of commercial conditions.
Invest in, partner on, or host the first scale-up.
Project Alkalion is the demonstration that de-risks Ocean Ionics One. We welcome family offices, subsidy partners, demonstration hosts, and industrial stakeholders.