Livent acquires minority stake in DLE firm ILiAD Technologies’ parent

Lithium developer Livent Corporation has acquired a minority stake in the parent company of ILiAD Technologies. ILiAD Technologies’ parent company is a subsidiary of EnergySource Minerals (ESM), a leading developer of lithium projects in the Salton Sea Known Geothermal Resource Area in California. ILiAD Technologies will seek to commercialize and continue to develop the ILiAD (Integrated Lithium Adsorption Desorption) technology platform. (Earlier post.)

ILiAD uses an innovative direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology that was developed over seven years of research and pilot testing by ESM. This efficient and flexible extraction technology can be used to recover high-purity lithium chloride from lithium-laden brine resources around the world, including brine from salars, produced water, geothermal brine operations, and other lithium resources.

ILiAD DLE process. Source: ILiAD

In connection with its investment in ILiAD Technologies, Livent will have the right to license ILiAD technology for anticipated deployment at its lithium brine resource in Argentina (Salar del Hombre Muerto), and is evaluating opportunities for future production use across its portfolio.

Livent said that the ILiAD solution is complementary to Livent’s own process technologies and readily fits into the company’s existing plant designs and flowsheet. Additionally, ILiAD offers the potential for significant improvements in Livent’s energy usage and carbon footprint as well as continued improvements in water use. Commercial utilization of ILiAD at Livent could begin as early as 2025.

Livent is the world’s foremost practitioner and largest user of DLE-based production processes, and we are thrilled that they have recognized the advantages that ILiAD brings to the future of DLE. Our technology enhances the lithium extraction process with a fraction of the physical footprint of traditional operations, significantly less water use and lower carbon emissions than many other DLE solutions, and no consumption of reagents. This partnership represents a major step in our mission to deploy ILiAD for environmentally responsible lithium production across the world.

—Samuel Moore, Chief Executive Officer of ILiAD Technologies