E3 Lithium, a Canadian lithium producer, has announced the production of lithium metal batteries in collaboration with Pure Lithium.
This is part of the companies’ joint development agreement focusing on utilising E3 Lithium’s brines and direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, alongside Pure Lithium’s battery solutions.
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The initial focus was on combining E3 Lithium’s concentrate production flow sheet with Pure Lithium’s exclusive Brine to Battery technology to manufacture high-quality lithium metal batteries.
Different versions of lithium chloride concentrate, representing various stages along the E3 Lithium process flow sheet, were electro-deposited into lithium metal and assessed for consistency and purity.
Following this, batteries were produced to test the performance of the metal when assembled into a battery.
An optimised lithium chloride concentrate, based on a lithium concentration and impurity profile, has been established from this work.
Through their collaboration, E3 Lithium and Pure Lithium have created more than 80 lithium metal battery cells, utilising lithium concentrate sourced from E3.
E3 Lithium president and CEO Chris Doornbos said: “The production of lithium metal batteries from E3’s Alberta brine marks a significant milestone and outlines our ability to produce multiple battery grade lithium products.
“The successful integration of E3’s lithium brine resource and DLE technology with Pure Lithium’s innovative technology demonstrates our commitment to developing a secure, reliable and local lithium battery supply chain.”
Pure Lithium has carried out thorough testing of the batteries’ cell performance using industry-standard metrics.
The results will be made available once all testing and analysis are finished, with the testing programme expected to conclude by the second quarter of 2025.
Pure Lithium founder, chairman and CEO Emilie Bodoin said: “The expertise of E3 Lithium’s team, along with their extensive brine resources, has been crucial in advancing our Brine to Battery technology for the production of lithium metal anodes.
“We are confident in our strong partnership with E3 and our shared ability to achieve large-scale lithium metal anode production at a fraction of current commercial costs.”
The two companies signed a joint development agreement in August last year to advance the design of a vertically integrated lithium metal anode and battery pilot.
