Here Comes More Lithium For EV Batteries, Made In The USA

The article highlights a significant development in the U.S. lithium supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, focusing on the startup EnergyX’s progress toward domestic, commercial-scale production of battery-grade lithium. Despite abundant lithium resources in the U.S., the country has been heavily reliant on China, which controls about 70–75% of global lithium chemical refining capacity. This dependency stems from China’s dominance in refining lithium into usable chemicals, a critical bottleneck that has made it uneconomical for non-Chinese refiners to operate at scale. EnergyX aims to break this dependency by leveraging Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, supported by a $5 million Department of Energy grant and private investments from Korean firms connected to battery maker POSCO. EnergyX has developed the LiTAS™ DLE Platform, an integrated system that uses renewable geothermal energy and combines several advanced extraction and refining techniques to reduce costs and improve efficiency. In March 2024, EnergyX commissioned its Project Lonestar