Duranium
Reshoring critical metal production
Founders
- Brenden Prins-McKinneyFounder/CEO
- Berkley NobleFounder/CTO
Same space
Adjacent
Overlapping tags, a different niche.
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About Duranium
China and Russia control the world’s critical minerals. We can produce Titanium, Magnesium, Aluminum, Zirconium & Hafnium in the U.S. more profitably than any existing process, and carbon neutrally via co-production. Carbochlorination is the primary process for producing critical metals like titanium, hafnium, and zirconium, and was once the standard for magnesium. The problem: conventional carbochlorination relies on purchasing carbon feedstocks, wastes valuable byproducts, and is highly CO₂-intensive. Duranium changes this with a novel reactor that recycles CO₂ emissions back into feedstock (CO) while generating a valuable co-product (bleaching agents). This closed loop slashes emissions and delivers Chinese-level metal pricing without subsidies — unlocking the full potential of carbochlorination for U.S. critical mineral production.
San Francisco, CA, USA
Duranium: questions
Which YC batch was Duranium in?
Duranium was in Y Combinator's Summer 2025 batch (S25).
Is Duranium still active?
Y Combinator lists Duranium as active.
Who founded Duranium?
Duranium's founders, as listed on its YC page: Brenden Prins-McKinney (Founder/CEO), Berkley Noble (Founder/CTO).
Where is Duranium based?
Duranium lists San Francisco, CA, USA as its location on YC's directory.
Not affiliated with Y Combinator. From YC's public directory. Logos via logo.dev; trademarks belong to their owners.