An Australian startup, backed by Rio Tinto, is raising funds to develop a lithium extraction technology that could unlock new reserves of this critical battery material and reduce global reliance on China for its refinement.
From a range of raw lithium types, ElectraLith, a company spun out from Monash University in Melbourne, claimed to have successfully created battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Rio Tinto and the IP Group in Britain have invested in it; now, it wants to raise $15 million to construct its first center for technology development and commercialization.
The startup is among a select group of businesses creating “direct lithium extraction” technology, which has the potential to revolutionize the industry by cutting the price of lithium mining and making resources that were previously unprofitable accessible.
Funds are being raised by an Australian start-up supported by mining giant Rio Tinto to develop a process for extracting lithium, which might lead to the discovery of new sources of this essential component of batteries and lessen global need on China for lithium refinement.
From a range of raw lithium types, ElectraLith, a company spun out from Monash University in Melbourne, claimed to have successfully created battery-grade lithium hydroxide. Rio Tinto and the IP Group in Britain have invested in it; now, it wants to raise $15 million to construct its first center for technology development and commercialization.
The capacity to refine lithium into hydroxide, according to Charlie McGill, CEO of ElectraLith, might be very advantageous for nations like the US and Australia, which have taken steps to create essential minerals laws meant to lessen their reliance on China.
He stated, “The refining process’ onshoring could have a significant impact for the US.” “We can take brines directly to Tesla and the US government with no China involvement.”
According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, China presently holds a 65% global market share in lithium refining, making it the industry leader.
According to Mike Molinari, managing director of IP Group Australia, the critical minerals sector is now defined by its ability to control costs, boost output, and navigate geopolitics. He claimed that technology that could assist in resolving those problems was well-positioned to be successful, particularly in the lithium sector where supply is predicted to fall short of demand.
He claimed that “the vast majority of capacity is in China, and that’s become problematic,” “This could reduce the dependence for critical resources on governments you’re not aligned with.”
According to ElectraLith’s testing, it can purify lithium without the need for chemicals or water, which distinguishes it from other DLE processes and conventional evaporation techniques that consume large volumes of water. According to McGill, the proof of concept demonstrated that it could create hydroxide from extremely poor-quality salt that was obtained from Utah.
DLE has been developed since the 1970s but is only being used commercially in a small number of projects worldwide, so there is still doubt about its potential. McGill acknowledged that the company has a long way to go before delivering on its promise.
However, he noted that government agencies and major oil and gas firms have shown interest in the current funding round, and Rio Tinto’s support was extremely important.
The method exhibited “real potential to significantly reduce the economic and environmental costs of lithium production,” according to Travis Baroni, chief adviser at Rio Tinto’s battery minerals segment and board member of ElectraLith.