Pure Lithium, a lithium metal battery technology company, has secured funding from the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technology Office.
The funding will support the scaling of lithium metal anode production from recycled lithium metal in collaboration with Argonne National Laboratory.
Go deeper with GlobalData
This initiative aims to create a closed-loop domestic supply chain for lithium metal anodes.
Lithium metal waste is a byproduct of certain industrial processes in the US. By recovering and utilising this waste, Pure Lithium intends to strengthen its battery production capabilities.
The partnership with Argonne National Laboratory will focus on demonstrating and scaling the company’s patent-pending technology to produce pure lithium metal anodes from recycled materials.
The company’s Brine to Battery technology integrates metal extraction and anode production, allowing access to non-traditional lithium sources.
The lithium metal anode produced through the process is the main component of the company’s lithium metal vanadium oxide (LVO) battery. Furthermore, the battery contains no graphite, cobalt, nickel or manganese.
Pure Lithium founder and CEO Emilie Bodoin said: “While our core technology is combining metal extraction from lithium-bearing brines with anode production, our team is highly skilled in metallurgical processing. The opportunity to extract value from a waste stream utilising technology that complements our large portfolio of patents was one we could not pass up.
“I am delighted to work with Argonne National Laboratory, leveraging their incredible team and facilities to demonstrate and scale this technology. External partners are the key to accelerating our time to market as we continue to execute on our business plan, securing all commercially viable intellectual property surrounding lithium metal anode and battery production, ensuring a secure low-cost domestic supply chain.”
This acquisition is a significant step towards the commercialisation of Pure Lithium’s LVO battery, which could potentially decrease the US’s dependency on China for battery materials.
In October last year, Pure Lithium announced the acquisition of all assets, including intellectual property, of Dimien, a vanadium cathode materials innovator based in Buffalo, US.
