Normal Motors invests in EnergyX lithium extraction

General Motors mentioned Tuesday its enterprise capital arm will lead a $50 million financing spherical for EnergyX, a Texas-based startup creating a extra environment friendly technique to extract and course of lithium from salt flats.

Lithium is a important element in batteries for electrical automobiles. Below the deal, GM will even assist develop EnergyX’s expertise and may have first proper of refusal to purchase lithium from any tasks developed by the startup.

EnergyX demonstrated its expertise with a pilot plant in South America’s “Lithium Triangle,” an space of salt flats protecting components of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile that incorporates over half of the world’s identified lithium reserves.

Presently, miners within the space extract lithium by pumping water underground to flush out the mineral then permitting the ensuing brine to evaporate in a sequence of ponds. The method is comparatively low cost, nevertheless it solely recovers 30% to 40% of the entire lithium – whereas utilizing large quantities of water and land.

EnergyX’s pilot plant, which opened final 12 months, has demonstrated that its expertise can get well 90% or extra of the lithium in brine, whereas utilizing a lot much less vitality, water and land than present processes.

EnergyX plans to make use of the brand new funding to construct 5 bigger demonstration crops in North and South America.

For GM, a key precedence is to unlock a North American provide of lithium, which is not cost-competitive with international provides utilizing present extraction strategies. The auto big believes that EnergyX’s expertise may scale back prices sufficient to make North American lithium mining viable, whereas minimizing the environmental affect of extracting the mineral.

GM will report its first-quarter outcomes earlier than U.S. markets open on Apr. 25.