The Saudis invest heavily in US lithium
Saudi Arabia-based investment firm Energy Capital Group (ECG) has invested in US lithium-metal battery specialist Pure Lithium for an undisclosed sum. Pure Lithium is looking to establish a fully integrated supply chain in Saudi Arabia, using its proprietary technology that extracts lithium from oil field brines.
“We are excited about Energy Capital Group's investment in Pure Lithium. They recognize the value and impact we can have in the realm by unlocking oilfield brines to create a ready electrode for batteries, eliminating 90% of current associated costs,” said Emilie Bodoin, founder and CEO of Pure Lithium.
Famed as a major oil and gas producer, Saudi Arabia is investing more and more in clean energy. Saudi Aramco recently launched a $1.5 billion “ sustainability fund ” that will invest in technologies supporting a “stable and inclusive” energy transition, making it one of the largest sustainability-focused venture capital funds in the world. .
The fund's initial focus areas include carbon capture and storage (CCS), greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, nature-based climate solutions, hydrogen, ammonia, digital sustainability and fuels synthetics. The fund will invest globally.
The direct extraction of lithium
A suite of direct lithium mining (DLE) technologies is being developed to exploit salt brine deposits in North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere; the United States Geological Survey estimates that this technology could unlock 70% of global reserves of the metal . DLE technologies vary, but are generally comparable to common household water softeners and aim to extract approximately 90% of the lithium in saline water compared to 50% for traditional basins.
Best of all, they can supply lithium for EV batteries in literally hours or days, much faster than the 12-18 months it takes to extract lithium carbonate from water-intensive evaporation ponds and open pit mines.
DLE also has the advantage of offering ESG/sustainability benefits: DLE technologies are portable, able to recycle much of the fresh water and limit the use of hydrochloric acid.
“The world needs cheap, abundant lithium to make an energy transition, and DLE has the potential to achieve that,” Ken Hoffman, co-lead of McKinsey's EV battery materials research group, told Reuters. Co.
John Burba, who helped invent a key DLE technology and is the executive chairman of IBAT, told Reuters: "The industry is so close to a great leap forward."
The DLE industry is projected to grow to more than $10 billion in annual revenue within the next decade. According to Fastmarkets projections, commercial-scale DLE projects are expected to start operating in 2025 and could supply 13% of global lithium supply by 2030.
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The article Saudis invest heavily in US lithium comes from Scenari Economics .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/i-sauditi-investono-pesantemente-nel-litio-americano/ on Thu, 31 Aug 2023 15:14:46 +0000.