US-based Volt Lithium has produced 99.5% battery-grade lithium carbonate from oilfield brine in the Permian Basin in West Texas, using its DLE technology.

The company has developed DLE technology aimed at extracting lithium from North American oilfield brines, contributing to a secure critical minerals supply chain for the region.

Volt Lithium CEO and president Alex Wylie said: “Successfully producing battery-grade lithium carbonate from the Permian is another significant milestone that Volt has achieved this year.

“Volt Lithium is on track to become one of North America’s first commercial producers of lithium from oilfield brine, contributing to the security of future sources of critical minerals in North America.”

Since 17 September 2024, Volt has been operating its DLE system in the field and continues to enhance the performance of its US field unit.

Volt has been producing lithium chloride concentrate, a precursor to lithium carbonate and other lithium compounds, from its field unit, which enables the company to cost-effectively scale-up further to process commercial levels of oilfield brine.

Third-party testing has validated the samples of lithium carbonate, which are now available for review by potential offtake partners.

The company's innovative three-stage process of DLE technology has led to the creation of quality eluate, which is converted into 99.5% pure battery-grade lithium carbonate.

In the first stage of the process, Volt employs established techniques to purify the oilfield brine, removing up to 99% of organics and contaminants.

The second stage utilises Volt's DLE technology to extract lithium, yielding up to 99% lithium extraction rates.

The final stage involves purifying and concentrating the eluate to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate that meets industry specifications.

The company stated that it will continue to produce both lithium chloride concentrates and lithium carbonate in various grades for the rest of 2024.