KMX Technologies, Inc. (“KMX”) and Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (“SEI”) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to conduct a feasibility study (FS) aimed at developing and constructing the first U.S.-based mass production plant for next-generation Vacuum Membrane Distillation (VMD) technology.
The plant will help KMX meet the growing demand for its proprietary VMD technology, which enables maximum water and mineral recovery. An engineering feasibility study is underway, and site selection for the production plant has begun.
The new plant will expand and diversify the supply chain for both companies, enabling domestic production of KMX’s proprietary VMD technology. The plant will also support U.S. efforts to reshore industrial manufacturing and strengthen national security through enhanced resource recovery and infrastructure resilience.
Toshihisa Adachi, General Manager of Water Processing Division at Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., said, “We have strengthened our partnership with KMX Technologies, leveraging their superior VMD technology with our proprietary membrane. We have been exploring opportunities for its application and deployment in the U.S. market. We anticipate that this MOU will lead to a concrete plan for local U.S. production, initiated by a feasibility study (FS), which will establish a stable supply chain and significantly contribute to meeting the substantial water treatment and resource recovery demands in the U.S.”.
Zachary Sadow, KMX CEO, said, “The launch of the first VMD mass-production plant in the United States will equip project developers with the most advanced solutions for water and mineral recovery, while reinforcing supply chains across industries of strategic importance”.
About KMX Technologies
KMX Technologies is solving the most critical environmental and energy challenges of the 21st century. Through its proprietary membrane distillation technology, the company sustainably sources critical minerals necessary for next-generation supply chains and infrastructure, is advancing wastewater treatment, and is accelerating energy storage with its direct lithium recovery enhancement processes.
About Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd.
Founded in 1897 in Osaka, Japan, Sumitomo Electric has extensive business operations in five industries: Automotive, Infocommunications, Electronics, Energy and Environment, and Industrial Materials.