Rivalia Chemical Co.

Market position

Rivalia is an early-stage entrant in domestic rare earth resource recovery. It notes that extracting rare earths from coal ash is not a new pursuit in the United States, but characterizes its approach as an attempt at a green, low-waste route relative to conventional chemical-intensive extraction methods.

Rivalia combines extraction with separation from the bulk ash matrix, eliminating total solid digestion, and relies on a recyclable ionic liquid reagent under mild conditions, which it contrasts with conventional chemical- and energy-intensive processes that generate additional waste and achieve low separation efficiency. It also pairs REE recovery with a second value stream by directing residual solids toward low-carbon concrete.

Technology

The process uses a recyclable ionic liquid as its key reagent to extract rare earth elements from coal fly ash while simultaneously separating them from the bulk elements in the ash. This avoids total solid digestion and streamlines the chemical- and energy-intensive downstream processing required by conventional methods, which the company characterizes as chemical- and energy-intensive with low separation efficiency. The process is described as operating under mild conditions with lower chemical consumption and reduced waste generation, and the ionic liquid can be reused over multiple cycles without performance loss. The residual solid is intended for reuse in low-carbon concrete. The technology, developed by founder Laura Stoy and supported by first-author publications in Environmental Science and Technology and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, is patent-pending.

Go-to-market

The company engages through cleantech and deep-tech accelerator ecosystems, including Techstars, The Engine's Blueprint program and CleanTech Open Northeast, and its founder has identified early relationship-building with government agencies such as the Department of Defense, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency as central to positioning the business.

Industries and applications dependent on rare earth elements, including consumer electronics, wind turbines, electric vehicles, batteries, optical sensors, LED screens, satellites, permanent magnets, petroleum refining, defense technology and medical treatments; the company also addresses utilities holding coal ash storage liabilities and potential concrete end-uses for process residuals.

Geography

United States-focused, with feedstock and market framing centered on domestic coal fly ash and US critical-minerals supply chains; the founder has participated in Alabama- and Northeast-based programs.

History

The company was launched in 2022 and joined the 2022 Techstars Alabama EnergyTech cohort, describing itself on its site as a Techstars-backed company. Its founder subsequently participated in The Engine's Blueprint program for Tough Tech founders and in CleanTech Open Northeast, while the core separation technology remained at patent-pending status.

Risks & controversies

The business depends on a patent-pending process that has not been shown at commercial scale, and the founder has identified science, engineering, scaling and regulatory/market risks as characteristic of Tough Tech ventures, with navigation of multiple federal regulatory agencies expected to be a significant part of building the company. Coal ash storage ponds themselves carry human-health and environmental hazards and are subject to disposal regulations enacted after incidents such as the 2008 Kingston Fossil Plant spill.