 The direct electrolysis of a molten mixture of beryllium fluoride and sodium fluoride by Paul Lebeau in 1898 resulted in the first pure ( 99 @.@ 5 to 99 @.@ 8 % ) samples of beryllium . The first commercially successful process for producing beryllium was developed in 1932 by Alfred Stock and Hans Goldschmidt . Their process involves the electrolysis of a mixture of beryllium fluorides and barium , which causes molten beryllium to collect on a water @-@ cooled iron cathode . 
