Great interest but only from abroad
Interest in CleanMag has been rising outside Greece. Nikolaidis has signed a contract with an Indonesian technical firm which deals with environmental projects to exclusively import a minimum 40 tons of CleanMag annually. Another firm that cleans the water in the Straits of Malaya (a passage used by many tankers) has asked for exclusive rights and is even discussing the possibility of a CleanMag factory. A Chilean firm has also expressed interest. Cyprus’s Electricity Authority has ordered a quantity of CleanMag for experimental use in cleaning petroleum reservoirs. Yet in Greece, 10 years after the first experiments, nothing has been done to exploit the method. The TEI researchers have joined the «PRAXE» program that helps scientists set up societes anonymes in order to make use of the results of the research. «We applied to firms in the broader public sector, such as Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE), but to no avail,» said Nikolaidis. Major private and public firms cannot see the benefit in what is a cheap, effective investment. Nevertheless, Nikolaidis is hopeful that the method will eventually be widely used. «As long as we don’t end up buying it from a foreign firm,» warned Nikolaidis. «My immediate concern is the ship. It would be a pity if such a brand-new boat rusted at the dock in the Merchant Marine Academy.» Nikolaidis has suggested to HELPE and Motor Oil to undertake the maintenance and use of the ship, but, again, to no avail. He set up the Argonaut research program, in which the Santorini Boatmen and Stevedore Association would use the CleanMag/Nancy to clean up oil slicks. The association approved the program unanimously, the TEI’s research program committee gave it the green light, but the program stumbled because TEI leaders decided the ship should not be used for commercial purposes.
