General Motors deepens presence in mining with EnergyX lithium investment

General Motors Co. will announce an investment in the lithium technology start-up on Tuesday EnergyXin its expansion into the mining industry, the auto giant’s latest deal to ensure long-term supplies of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries.

The global drive by automakers to electrify their fleets has unleashed a flood of stable supplies of lithium, copper, nickel and other essential minerals. Demand is expected to outstrip supply by the end of the decade, increasing interest in new production methods.

Privately held EnergyX is one of the companies developing hitherto unproven lithium direct extraction (DLE) technologies that could help GM filter the metal for its Ultium batteries from some types of brines that the mining industry has largely ignored it in favor of evaporation ponds and open pit mining.

Brine deposits are salty water found all over the world. Many are packed with lithium, calcium and other minerals and DLE technologies aim to separate the lithium and leave the rest.

As part of the investment, GM scientists will work to help EnergyX to commercialize the technology DLEtrying to succeed where rivals like Rio Tinto Ltd, Lilac Solutions Inc -backed by BMW- and others have so far failed.

“We are committed to obtaining essential minerals for electric vehicles that are sustainable and cost competitive,” said Jeff Morrison, GM vice president of Global Purchasing and Supply.

EnergyX, also known as Energy Exploration Technologies Incindicated that its goal is to launch an initial public offering in 2024. Venture capital firm Global Emerging Markets Group plans to invest $450 million in EnergyX when its shares go public.

EnergyX It says its technology can make lithium metal directly from brine, a tantalizing prospect for GM that could allow it to avoid refining, considered a supply chain bottleneck.

The investment in EnergyX comes after GM agreed in January to pay $650 million to become the largest shareholder in Lithium Americas Corp, which is developing the Thacker Pass project in Nevada.

The company also invested in 2021 in private firm Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR), which is seeking to use DLE technology to develop a geothermal brine project in southern California.

GM’s investment is a major vote of confidence in EnergyX, which was hurt last year when authorities in Bolivia – home to the world’s largest lithium deposits – disqualified the company from a DLE selection process.

EnergyX it is building five demonstration facilities that it plans to locate in Argentina, Chile and in the US states of California, Arkansas and Utah. Potential customers would supply brine from their own land to test EnergyX’s technology before signing any development agreements.

Source: Reuters