The corporate says it has discovered a method to make lithium batteries from scratch going from “from brine to battery” in lower than 48 hours.
“We’ve taken lithium from 4 continents world wide and have made it right into a pure steel electrode,” co-founder and CEO Emilie Bodoin instructed MINING.com in an interview. “We’re not that exact in regards to the lithium supply as a result of our know-how and our finish product could be very totally different than what everybody else is doing.”
In July, Pure Lithium received the startup Coup de Coeur Award on the World Supplies Discussion board for its battery-ready lithium steel electrode and acquired the perfect new mission award at Fastmarkets, competing in opposition to a number of extra mature corporations.
Occidental subsidiary TerraLithium, by means of its three way partnership with Berkshire Hathaway invested $15 million, Bodoin stated, including that Canadian agency E3 Lithium has been supplying the corporate with focus for 2 years.
Vanadium – the sport changer
The disruptor in PL’s chemistry, Bodoin says, is vanadium.
The corporate pairs its lithium steel anode with a vanadium oxide cathode that was invented by Nobel Prize winner Stan Whittingham, a key determine within the historical past of Li-ion batteries.
The corporate’s mental property portfolio (73 patents pending) features a joint patent software with Professor Whittingham, who did the testing to show the higher security profile, Bodoin stated.
“It really works, and that’s what we’re utilizing. It’s a easy idea. What we’re doing is so totally different than another firm,” Bodoin stated.
Whereas vanadium, a naturally occurring mineral discovered in lots of uranium mines, doesn’t get quite a lot of consideration, it’s extra considerable than nickel in North America and available within the US, which alleviates provide chain clogs.
There are energetic tasks in Nevada – the Gibellini vanadium mission, owned by Nevada Vanadium, which in August merged with Flying Nickel Mining, accomplished the federal allowing course of final 12 months for what might be the primary major vanadium mine within the US.
US uranium producer Vitality Fuels can also be producing business ranges of excessive purity vanadium at its White Mesa Mill in Utah.
“You don’t hear loads about vanadium –– it’s going to be the brand new cathode chemistry. It’s fairly excellent for lithium steel. And you may match two lithium per one vanadium in it, and it received’t launch oxygen. The stuff is so steady at temperature, it’s higher than LFP. It’s higher than something,” Bodoin stated.
“We’ve got a really clean, even elementally pure piece of lithium. So that you’ve simply taken a ton of price and processing and journey out of the largest drawback with the battery.”
Scaling up Boston manufacturing facility
PL is scaling up its facility in Boston to fabricate, and Bodoin stated the corporate will proceed to show going from brine to battery by taking E3’s lithium focus, making it into electrode and making the battery in the identical facility, which it goals to have up and operating within the subsequent 12 to 16 months.
“We’ve made our identical batteries work from 4 totally different continents value of lithium to show that now we have a really sturdy manufacturing system,” Bodoin stated. “The battery must be actually low-cost, or nobody’s going to wish to purchase it.”
The CEO, who has been within the battery area for over 12 years, seems to be to the longer term in a extremely aggressive market with confidence.
“For those who’re a DLE firm on shark tank with me, you’ll be able to’t compete as a result of I’m making a complete battery and all of the parts for the battery. So, you’re simply not going to win.”