Eager to protected all the lithium it demands to energy a escalating lineup of electric powered cars, Common Motors said on Tuesday that it will direct a $50 million financial commitment into lithium extraction and refining startup EnergyX.
With the deal, the legacy automaker claims it will assist EnergyX scale its lithium-extraction tech. In trade, GM will get special entry to some of the lithium that EnergyX resources from mining organizations in North and South The united states.
The businesses declined to disclose the extent of this exclusivity deal, but in an electronic mail to TechCrunch, GM spokesperson David Caldwell explained it “is capped at selected details, not unlimited.” The businesses also did not name the other investors concerned in the $50 million funding spherical.
Lithium demand has surged in the previous couple a long time, thanks in no modest part to the increase of electric powered automobiles and renewables. The press for evermore lithium is driving providers such as EnergyX to search for much more efficient — and less environmentally harmful — extraction methods. Before this year, EnergyX reported that its tech can “extract lithium from brine means making use of minor to no h2o, and does not need heavy metals or chemical additives.”
The Austin, Texas, and San Juan, Puerto Rico–based startup bears no relation to a equally named, Seoul-based mostly business named Energy X, which focuses on decarbonizing buildings.
Like other automakers, this isn’t GM’s very first financial investment in a lithium mining corporation. In January, the automaker said it would pump a whopping $650 million into Lithium Americas to aid fund a mine in Nevada.