Lithium demand is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as the world turns to greener sources of energy to meet its net-zero goals. But extracting and processing lithium is not an easy task, and challenges and delays are common across projects in the industry.
Many experts believe new technologies could be a way to bring more supply online at a faster rate, with direct lithium extraction (DLE) being called the next potential game changer for the industry.
DLE refers to a variety of technologies used to extract lithium from brines. Some projects are already producing lithium using DLE methods in China and South America, and many junior miners looking into these processes to bring their projects online.
For Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), DLE has the potential to significantly impact the lithium industry, “with implementation on the extraction of lithium brines potentially revolutionary to production/capacity, timing and environmental impacts/permitting.’
Using filters, membranes, ceramic beads or other equipment, DLE technologies extract lithium from brines faster than traditional methods and have a lower carbon footprint. According to Fastmarkets, 13 percent of the world’s lithium will be produced using DLE by 2030.
But questions remain as to when DLE might make a difference at a commercial scale, and there are also concerns related to water usage. Currently, the only commercially proven approach to DLE has been adsorption; other methods, such as ion-exchange or solvent extraction, are still in the pre-commercial stage.
“It’s certainly part of our long-term forecasts, but it is a question of time,” he said. “We are getting closer and closer to the stage where we will see it.”
What to look for in a DLE stock?
“We have to think of them separating what is brines in salt lakes, and maybe very low-grade lithium brines in other places,” he said. “To put it simply, I don’t think we will have any supply coming from these technologies in the next five years.”
Similarly, Chris Berry of House Mountain Partners pointed out that direct lithium extraction is not a single technology.
He added that when looking at companies to invest in, the basics — such as whether the management team has ever done this before — are key. “What is their capability with respect to very complicated chemical processing? There’s some experience out there, but we need a lot more of it,’ Berry explained.
For Rodney Hooper of RK Equity, DLE is an opportunity. “The way I look at DLE opportunities has always been to value it as optionality rather than as a project,” he said. “It’s a big bid on a new technology, but it is needed, it would fit very well in the ESG narrative, so we hope that it does work. But the timelines need to be more realistic in terms of building pilot plants or projects on a stage-by-stage basis, and then seeing that they pan out.”
Which lithium companies are betting on DLE?
One of the most well-known lithium producers in the western world currently using a proprietary DLE process is Argentina-focused Livent (NYSE:LTHM). Given Chile’s recent push for more DLE, producers SQM (NYSE:SQM) and Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) are also looking into this technology. Aside from that, diversified miner Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) invested in a DLE project in Argentina last year, and Eramet (ERA:EPA) is also developing an asset in the South American country using this technology alongside China’s Tsingshan Holding Group.
Within the private sector, Controlled Thermal Resources, EnergyX, EnergySource Minerals, IBC Advanced Technologies and Cornish Lithium are some of the players in the DLE space.
1. Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL,OTC Pink:VULNF)
Market cap: US$622.12 million
Share price: AU$4.89
Vulcan Energy Resources is focused on lithium production in Europe, with projects in Germany and Italy. The company says it is aiming to decarbonize lithium production by ‘producing a world-first lithium hydroxide monohydrate chemical product with carbon neutral footprint.’
To this end, Vulcan is developing the Zero Carbon lithium project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley using a proprietary alumina-based adsorbent process. Vulcan draws on naturally occurring, renewable geothermal energy to power the lithium extraction process, and the process also creates a renewable energy by-product. This extraction method also uses significantly less water than traditional extraction methods and has a small footprint, according to the company.
Vulcan has signed lithium offtake deals with Netherlands-based Stellantis (NYSE:STLA), Renault (EPA:RNO) and Volkswagen (OTC Pink:VLKAF,FWB:VOW). Starting in 2026, Vulcan is set to deliver between 26,000 and 32,000 metric tons (MT) of battery-grade lithium chemicals for an initial six-year term to Renault, and between 34,000 and 42,000 MT of battery grade lithium hydroxide over a five-year term to Volkswagen. Aside from signing supply deals with automakers, Vulcan has inked agreements with battery materials maker Umicore (EBR:UMI) and South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions.
2. TETRA Technologies (NYSE:TTI)
Market cap: US$444.3 million
Share price: AU$3.38
TETRA Technologies is an energy services and solutions company. In recent years, it has expanded its business into the low carbon energy markets. This includes the commercialization of its TETRA PureFlow ultra-pure zinc bromide clear brine fluid for stationary batteries and energy storage, as well as the development of its lithium and bromine assets in Arkansas.
TETRA and Standard Lithium, the next DLE company on this list, inked agreements in 2017 and 2018 that allow Standard Lithium to extract lithium from a portion of Tetra’s brine leases.
In August 2024, private DLE firm KMX Technologies announced it had secured funding from TETRA Technologies to help develop and bring to market products for the commercial processing of battery-grade lithium. TETRA CFO Elijio Serrano will also be joining the KMX board of directors.
3. Standard Lithium (TSXV:SLI,NYSEAMERICAN:SLI)
Market cap: US$381.01 million
Share price: C$2.74
Standard Lithium’s flagship projects, the Lanxess project and the South West Arkansas project, are located in Southern Arkansas, US, near the Louisiana state line. They are part of the Smackover formation, a geological formation that stretches across multiple US states and is a prolific source of oil. More recently, it has been looked at for its lithium brine potential.
Standard Lithium completed a pre-feasibility study for the project in September 2023 based on an indicated mineral resource estimate of 269,000 MT of lithium with an inferred resource of 74,000 MT. The study demonstrated a base case after-tax net present value of US$3.09 billion with an internal rate of return of 32.8 percent and a payback period of four years.
The company has a partnership with specialty chemicals company Lanxess (OTC Pink:LNXSF). At Standard’s DLE demonstration plant at the Lanxess project, the company is testing commercial lithium extraction and purification of brine. A definitive feasibility study for the plant also released in September 2023 shows an after-tax net present value of US$550 million and an internal rate of return of 24 percent, as well as an annual production of 5,700 MT of battery-quality lithium carbonate.
The company is also pursuing the development of other projects in East Texas’ portion of the Smackover formation, as well as approximately 45,000 acres of mineral leases located in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California.
Standard partnered on a 55/45 joint venture for South West Arkansas and East Texas with Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) in May 2024. In September, Standard announced it had been selected by the US Department of Energy for an award of up to US$225 million to develop the South West Arkansas project.
4. International Battery Metals (TSXV:IBAT)
Market cap: US$88.17 million
Share price: C$0.44
International Battery Metals is a DLE technology company that says it has ‘developed and patented the world’s fastest, scalable lithium-processing technologies and has pioneered the only patented technology able to achieve commercial-scale lithium production in just 18 months.’
The company’s proprietary modular DLE technology quickly and efficiently recovers more lithium from brine than traditional methods, with recoveries of 68 percent, and is more environmentally friendly than traditional methods as well.
International Battery Metals achieved first commercial production in July 2024 at its proprietary modular DLE plant in Utah. The company heralded it as ‘an industry landmark representing the first lithium produced from the only modular DLE operation in the world and the first commercial DLE operation in North America.’
5. Anson Resources (ASX:ASN,OTCQB:ANSNF)
Market cap: US$68.59 million
Share price: AU$0.079
Anson Resources, via its subsidiary A1 Lithium, is developing the Paradox lithium project in Utah, US. The project hosts a mineral resource estimate of 1.04 million MT of lithium carbonate equivalent and 5.27 million MT of bromine.
The company partnered with Sunresin, a Chinese company offering DLE lithium technology, to use its proprietary DLE process at Paradox.
Anson has reached a number of important milestones in 2024. In May, the company secured a binding offtake agreement with LG for 4,000 dry metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate over five years beginning in 2027. Shortly after, Anson received its first permit approval from Utah’s Department of Natural Resources to source water, or brine, for lithium extraction at its Green River lithium project.
Anson partnered with Koch Technology Solutions in June to use Koch’s Li-Pro process for a pilot Lithium Selective Sorption unit at the Green River lithium project. The company announced in August that it had produced its first battery-grade lithium carbonate from brines at Paradox, and can now provide product samples to potential off-take partners.
6. E3 Lithium (TSXV:ETL,OTCQX:EEMMF)
Market cap: US$64.01 million
Share price: C$1.23
E3 Lithium is developing the Clearwater lithium project in Alberta with the goal of producing high-purity, battery-grade lithium products. E3 plans to process brine from Clearwater using its DLE ion-exchange technology, which it is scaling towards commercialization.
The company’s technology uses a proprietary sorbent designed to be highly selective toward lithium ions, allowing it to ‘quickly and efficiently reduces large volumes of low-grade brine into a high-grade lithium concentrate in one step, simultaneously removing nearly all impurities.’ It achieves over 90 percent recoveries and reduces impurities by over 98 percent.
The company received C$3.5 million in funding from Natural Resources Canada for a pilot project using its DLE technology to extract lithium from Leduc brines in Alberta, and data from it helped to inform the June 2024 pre-feasibility study, which confirmed the economic viability of the Clearwater project. In October 2024, E3 Lithium stated it had successfully completed all milestones of the pilot project.
Earlier in the year, E3 Lithium completed expansion work at its Calgary-based lab to include the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate. The company announced plans in August to construct a fully integrated lithium brine demonstration facility in Alberta aimed at producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from brines within the Leduc reservoir. The Government of Alberta has invested C$5 million in the plant. That same month, E3 Lithium entered into a partnership with Pure Lithium to design a lithium metal anode and battery pilot plant in the province.
7. Lake Resources (ASX:LKE,OTCQB:LLKKF)
Market cap: US$59.697 million
Share price: AU$0.07
Lake Resources is a lithium developer using state-of-the-art ion-exchange extraction technology for the production of sustainable, high-purity lithium from its flagship Kachi project in Catamarca, Argentina. The company’s technology partner is California-based Lilac Solutions, which says its technology protects the environment while accelerating project development, increasing recovery and yielding a high-purity product.
The low price environment for lithium carbonate and difficulty finding a strategic partner led Lake Resources to place the project on hold in June 2024. The company is still planning to bring the project into production in 2027 if market conditions improve.
8. Arizona Lithium (ASX:AZL,OTCQB:AZLAF)
Market cap: AU$50.69 million
Share price: AU$0.017
Arizona Lithium is an exploration company headquartered in Australia and engaged in the development of North American lithium projects, with its Big Sandy lithium project in Arizona and Lordsburg lithium project in New Mexico. At the end of 2022, Arizona Lithium acquired Prairie Lithium, a lithium exploration and technology company. The acquisition brought the Prairie lithium project in Saskatchewan, Canada, and the company’s DLE technology, into Arizona Lithium’s portfolio.
In November 2023, the company commence operations at a pilot DLE test plant at the Prairie project, using Prairie’s proprietary lithium extraction technology. The DLE method employs an ion-exchange material to selectively extract lithium from brine using equipment that is expected to be readily available at commercial scale. The following month, Arizona Lithium completed a positive preliminary feasibility study confirming ‘average operating costs of US$2,819 per tonne over the operating life of the project,’ which it said make Prairie one of the lowest cost projects globally.
The pilot plant project, completed in April 2024, processed over 200,000 liters of brine and produced over 13,500 liters of lithium concentrate. The steady-state phase achieved an average lithium recovery rate of 95 percent. The next month, Arizona Lithium started production drilling at the Prairie lithium project. As of October 2024, construction of Pad 3 had been completed with drilling commencing in the coming weeks. The company plans to identify another nine pads with the goal of reaching total steady state production of 24,000 MT per year.
9. Century Lithium (TSXV:LCE,OTCQX:CYDVF)
Market cap: US$45.64 million
Share price: C$0.40
Century Lithium is advancing its wholly owned Angel Island mine, previously named the Clayton Valley project, which hosts an extensive surface lithium-bearing claystone deposit adjacent to Albemarle’s Silver Peak brine operation in Nevada, US. Of key importance for Nevada-based lithium operations, the company has secured a water rights permit that will cover the majority of the project’s future water requirements.
Century has outfitted its lithium extraction pilot plant in Nevada’s Amargosa Valley with Koch Technology Solutions’ DLE equipment to produce an intermediate concentrated lithium solution.
In August 2023, testing completed at Saltworks Technologies in British Columbia, Canada, once again showed that product solutions processed via DLE at Century’s pilot plant are capable of producing low-cost, high-purity lithium carbonate for the electric vehicle and battery storage markets.
The following April, the company released a positive feasibility study for the Angel Island project outlining a three-phase production plan to produce an average of 34,000 MT per annum of battery-quality lithium carbonate over the 40-year life of the mine. Century Lithium added a lithium carbonate stage to the lithium extraction pilot plant in August, and began producing 99.5 percent lithium carbonate in September.
10. CleanTech Lithium (LSE:CTL,OTCQX:CTLHF)
Market cap: US$20.45 million
Share price: GBX 11.10
CleanTech Lithium is an exploration and development company focused on lithium projects in Chile. The company has three prospective lithium projects: Laguna Verde, Francisco Basin and Llamara. CleanTech Lithium is committed to using renewable power for processing, and it is using DLE in part to reduce the environmental impact of its lithium production.
The company says the DLE method, which is being provided by Sunresin, offers short development lead times and low upfront capital expenditure, as well as no extensive site construction and no evaporation pond development. This means there is no water depletion from the aquifer or harm to the local environment.
In July 2024, CleanTech reported that the first stage of production at the DLE pilot plant was complete with the production of a sample of battery-grade lithium. The company and its partners are working to optimize the downstream process to further lower energy use and carbon emissions as well as capital and operating costs.
11. LithiumBank Resources (TSXV:LBNK,OTCQX:LBNKF)
Market cap: US$14.38 million
Share price: C$0.405
LithiumBank Resources is a development company focused on lithium-enriched brine projects in Western Canada — including its Boardwalk lithium project in Alberta — where it says low-carbon-impact, rapid DLE technology can be deployed.
The company has partnered with Conductive Energy to use its ion-exchange DLE process at Boardwalk. Conductive’s ion-exchange materials extract lithium from brine resources to produce lithium chloride, which is then processed using Conductive’s electrolytic refining process to create battery-grade lithium.
LithiumBank announced in September that initial pilot plant operations at its DLE facility in Calgary, Alberta, resulted in recoveries greater than 98 percent of lithium from brine and over 40,000 liters of brine sourced from four wells at Boardwalk.
“Successfully recovering over 98 (percent) lithium from Boardwalk brine at the pilot scale is a very significant achievement for LithiumBank,” stated Executive Chairman Paul Matysek. “Consistently achieving this level of recovery at scale is of paramount importance as we work towards efficiently producing a battery grade lithium.’
Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.