Lithium brine-to-battery company EnergyX has announced a “major” lithium project for North America, unveiling plans to build a plant in the so-called ‘Ark-La-Tex’ region that will produce 5 000 t/y in Phase 1 and 25 000 t/y in Phase 2.
Currently, the biggest active lithium plant in the US produces 5 000 t/y, underscoring the potential of EnergyX’s Lonestar project to ramp up US lithium output.
Last year, EnergyX closed its Series B financing from strategic institutional partners, including General Motors and Posco, which have first rights to portions of EnergyX’s lithium production offtake.
The company has partnered with engineering, procurement and construction group Kiewet to undertake the initial front end engineering plans of Lonestar, and to help enhance the scalability and efficiency of EnergyX’s suite of LiTAS direct lithium extraction technologies.
“Project Lonestar Lithium will take us one step closer to securing the US battery supply chain,” said EnergyX CEO Teague Egan.
“This has been a long time in the making, and we still have a long way to go, but it is crucial that US-based companies really focus on developing domestic resources to reduce our reliance on external, offshore suppliers for critical elements like lithium,” he added.
Last year, the US Department of Energy selected EnergyX for a $5-million grant, with a $5-million company match, to build a demonstration plant to produce lithium hydroxide from geothermal brines in the US.
Lonestar is the second major lithium project announcement for EnergyX, which in 2023 acquired 36 400 ha of lithium mining concessions in Chile, the second largest lithium-producing country in the world, and launched the Black Giant project.