Captura, a US-based electrochemical platform supplier, and ElectraLith, a pioneer in direct lithium extraction and refining, have introduced a strategic partnership to commercialise ElectraLith’s DLE-R know-how.
The businesses imagine the partnership will speed up deployment of lower-impact, lower-cost applied sciences to assist the vitality transition.
ElectraLith’s DLE-R know-how is rising as one of many cleanest, most versatile and most cost-efficient strategies to extract and refine lithium, in response to the corporate. DLE-R’s proprietary electrochemical course of is designed to supply 99.5%-plus pure battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate from a spread of sources in a single, scalable and modular step that, it says, eliminates the necessity for additional refining, usually carried out abroad. It’s billed as extracting and producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide in a single, scalable and modular step that requires no water or chemical compounds, operating fully on renewable vitality.
ElectraLith anticipates a number of industrial deployments throughout main lithium bearing areas together with Chile, Argentina, Australia and the USA by 2028.
Captura’s proprietary bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) platform allows environment friendly electrochemical separation and conversion processes with considerably decrease vitality consumption and capital price than typical BMED methods. The know-how can assist a number of steps in lithium extraction and refining, and may combine with a broad vary of options, serving to producers enhance course of effectivity, economics and sustainability efficiency, the corporate claims.
Underneath the partnership and topic to sure phrases and situations, ElectraLith will procure BMED stacks from Captura over an preliminary interval of 5 years. This contains BMED stacks procured in June 2026 for 2 commercial-scale DLE-R pilot vegetation, each of that are anticipated to be commissioned in early 2027. ElectraLith anticipates orders for added BMED stacks instantly following profitable pilot operations for DLE-R’s international deployment.
“ElectraLith’s partnership with Captura combines two business pioneers taking up local weather change, one of many biggest challenges of our technology,” Charlie McGill, CEO of ElectraLith, mentioned. “Captura’s BMED know-how absolutely unlocks DLE-R’s potential to ship the cleanest, most versatile and most cost-efficient technique of extracting and refining lithium, the elemental component of a sustainable future. It additionally unlocks DLE-R’s potential to assist a completely home US lithium provide chain.”
Christene Banda, Chief Working Officer of Captura, added: “This partnership represents an essential industrial milestone for Captura as ElectraLith turns into our first main buyer for our electrodialysis platform. It validates the power of our proprietary membrane know-how and demonstrates the worth of mixing our groups’ complementary experience and applied sciences to develop a differentiated resolution for the lithium market.”
ElectraLith is backed by a consortium together with Rio Tinto, Chevron Expertise Ventures, Marathon Petroleum Company and In-Q-Tel, whereas Captura not too long ago introduced the primary shut of its Collection B financing with continued assist from present buyers together with Equinor Ventures, Aramco Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Maersk Progress and Nationwide Grid Companions.
