The world comprises huge portions of lithium, an integral aspect in electric vehicle batteries. And although lithium is often mined from onerous rock, nearly all of the world’s lithium reserves are literally present in brine, extraordinarily salty water beneath the Earth’s floor.

Today, brine mining includes evaporating the brine in large, extravagantly coloured swimming pools over a collection of about 18 months, leaving excessive concentrations of lithium behind. It’s a easy however inefficient course of that takes up huge swaths of land and is ecologically disruptive.

As automakers around the globe battle to meet terribly formidable electric vehicle manufacturing targets, there’s rising curiosity in doing issues otherwise. 

“The auto business requires a 20x enhance in lithium provide, and there is simply no method to obtain that sort of progress with standard applied sciences,” mentioned Dave Snydacker, founder and CEO of Lilac Solutions.

Lilac is considered one of plenty of corporations piloting a set of new and largely unproven applied sciences known as direct lithium extraction, or DLE, which could enhance the effectivity and reduce the adverse externalities of the brine mining course of.

Instead of concentrating lithium by evaporating brine in giant swimming pools, DLE pulls the brine instantly right into a processing unit, places it by way of a collection of chemical processes to separate the lithium, then injects it again underground. This course of produces battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide in a matter of hours, with out the necessity to transport concentrated brine to a separate processing facility.

DLE could additionally help jump-start the home lithium mining market. Today, most lithium brine mining takes place within the Salar de Atacama, an expansive salt flat in northern Chile that comprises the best high quality lithium brine on the earth. But DLE applied sciences require a lot much less land and might help unlock sources in areas the place the brine comprises much less lithium and extra impurities.

North American corporations Lilac Solutions, EnergyX and Standard Lithium are exploring lithium sources in areas comparable to Arkansas’ Smackover Formation, California’s Salton Sea and Utah’s Great Salt Lake, in addition to overseas in Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The Chilean authorities has even introduced that every one new lithium initiatives might be required to make use of DLE technology.

“So the timing is true and ripe for this to see the sunshine of day very, very quickly,” mentioned Amit Patwardhan, CTO of EnergyX.

EnergyX is constructing demonstration crops with undisclosed companions in Argentina, Arkansas, Chile, California and Utah, and is aiming to have the primary two up and working by the top of this yr. Recently, the corporate secured $50 million in funding from GM to help scale its tech.

Vancouver-based Standard Lithium additionally has massive backers. The public firm’s largest investor is Koch Industries, and it has been working an indication plant in South Arkansas for the final three years, producing lithium at a preexisting bromine plant.

The firm makes use of each ion-exchange and adsorption applied sciences, relying on the useful resource. It expects to start development on a commercial-scale DLE facility subsequent yr and is increasing into Texas as properly.

“We have a chance as we increase from Arkansas to Texas to be the biggest producing space for lithium chemical substances in North America, using in an space that is not below water stress, that has a social license to function,” mentioned Mintak.

Companies comparable to Standard Lithium, that are leaning into the U.S. market, stand to profit from the Inflation Reduction Act, which ties electric vehicle subsidies to home sourcing of battery supplies. Automakers may obtain the complete EV credit score in the event that they supply from nations which have free commerce agreements with the U.S., comparable to Chile.

While Chile has introduced that every one new lithium initiatives within the nation might be required to make use of DLE applied sciences, it has not introduced what corporations it will likely be partnering with for these new initiatives.

Neighboring Bolivia was contemplating technology from each EnergyX and Lilac Solutions to help unlock the nation’s huge however largely undeveloped lithium sources. The authorities in the end tapped a consortium of Chinese corporations, led by battery large CATL, to spearhead DLE efforts in its salt flats.

Most new lithium provide will proceed to come back from onerous rock initiatives for the remainder of this decade, Snydacker mentioned. “But by the top of this decade, we’ll see very large-scale brine initiatives coming on-line …” he predicted. “And going out into the following decade, this technology will present a majority of new provide.”

Overall, lithium manufacturing from DLE is projected to develop from about 54,000 metric tons at present to 647,500 metric tons by 2032, based on Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. That’s forecast to be price about $21.6 billion.

“But once we place it in relative phrases in opposition to the remainder of the worldwide market, that solely represents round 15% of complete provide,” mentioned James Mills, principal advisor at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. “So we’re nonetheless going to should depend on conventional types of manufacturing for the lithium models, whether or not it is evaporation ponds or onerous rock mining.”

Watch the video to learn more about the companies looking to bring direct lithium extraction into the mainstream.