Race for speedier lithium is underway from Arkansas to Argentina
Standard Lithium Ltd. is working on the breakthrough inside a white warehouse near a massive chemical factory run by Germany’s Lanxess AG that feeds brackish wastewater into the facility.
A cluster of pipes and tanks in the demonstration plant turn brine into a lithium compound within days instead of the year or more that traditional recovery methods take.
The firm is among dozens of companies racing to commercialize technology to extract lithium directly from brine, ushering in a new source to supplement the hard rock mines and huge evaporation ponds that currently supply the battery metal to the world. The outcome of such efforts is set to shape the industry’s future, bringing either the promise of abundant supply or setbacks that sour investors for years.
The advances are collectively known as direct lithium extraction, or DLE.
They promise to be cheaper, faster and greener than traditional lithium production in South America, which holds about half of the world’s reserves of the silvery white metal. DLE would also unlock new supplies in North America, including recovering the metal out of the salty water produced by oil drilling.
“It’s an evolutionary step in the lithium industry,” Standard Lithium Chief Executive Officer Robert Mintak said in an interview.
“If we’re going to have a supply chain that can meet the demands of the lithium industry, DLE will be one of the tools.”
All along the world’s EV supply chain, this new way of mining lithium is being touted as the solution for boosting output while protecting the environment. Billions of dollars are pouring in to what Goldman Sachs Group calls “potential game-changing technology,” much like shale’s disruptive impact on the oil industry.
Still, some producers and
