As the world leans into electrification, it will need more lithium. A key ingredient in the batteries that power everything from electric vehicles to cell phones, demand is projected to accelerate over the next decade.
To meet it, a new crop of startups are working on novel ways of producing the valuable metal and promising to open untapped lithium sources. They’re also battling heavy economic headwinds, pushing their technology forward amid a current market slump.
Direct lithium extraction (DLE) is an innovative approach to recover the material from brine that’s found on the Earth’s surface or pumped from underground. There are a variety of techniques, ranging from using lithium-attracting beads to using membranes that selectively filter the metal. Although startups have pursued DLE for years, only recently has the tech matured to become potentially competitive with existing lithium extraction methods.
“Right no