Challenge EcoMag, founded by Dr. Tam Tran and Tony Crimmins, set out to revolutionise the upcycling of magnesium-rich waste from sea-salt processing in Western Australia. Although Dr. Tran had developed a proprietary method for converting this waste into magnesium hydrocarbonate, scaling and refining the process remained a major hurdle. Traditional ‘wet chemistry’ methods were labour-intensive and inefficient, creating a need for a more scalable, cost-effective, and sustainable production approach.
Solution To address this, EcoMag partnered with FFS’s Research and Commercialisation Director, Professor Cordelia Selomulya and her crack team of spray-drying experts at UNSW Sydney. Together, they optimised the spray-drying process, developing a streamlined protocol that consistently delivered high-quality magnesium salts while reducing labour, energy costs, waste, and contamination. T
Impact The collaboration enabled EcoMag to significantly scale-up production and improve operational efficiency by a dramatic 60-fold increase in production of magnesium lactate—from 200g/day to 7–12kg/day, with future capacity to reach 24kg/day. This breakthrough allowed EcoMag’s sister company, Abundant Natural Health (ANH), to produce premium health products like magnesium-based pain-relief and sleep aids. As a result, ANH secured lucrative contracts with major US retailers such as CVS and Walmart and entered international distribution agreements. In parallel, UNSW helped develop high mesoporous Mg-based particles, unlocking a potential $1.5 billion market in pharmaceutical applications. These advancements also helped EcoMag secure federal funding through the NAIF scheme to build a commercial-scale plant in Dampier, WA.
