DLE Weekly delivers the latest insights on Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies, industry developments, and market trends. Stay tuned to see how DLE is shaping the future of sustainable energy.
DLE Weekly - 30 April 2025
Global Business, BICHEM Group
A Brine Project Clears Major Regulatory Hurdle
Smackover Lithium, a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor, has announced a key milestone in the development of its South West Arkansas (SWA) Project. The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission (AOGC) has unanimously approved the first-phase brine production unit known as the “Reynolds Unit”. Spanning approximately 20,854 acres, this unit is expected to produce 22,500 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate annually by 2028.
This regulatory green light marks a significant step forward for the project and paves the way for royalty terms to be established in May. The SWA Project employs a scalable, integrated Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) process to produce lithium in a sustainable manner. With multiple projects underway, Standard Lithium is positioning itself as a leader in the development of domestic lithium resources to support the growing demand for clean energy technologies.
China’s Energy Storage Industry Resurges with Over 100 New Projects
Despite previous concerns over excess capacity, China’s energy storage industry witnessed a strong resurgence in the first quarter of 2024, with over 100 new projects in battery production and system integration progressing domestically and internationally. Several factors are driving this new wave of capacity expansion, including the rollout of national policy reforms (such as Document No. 136), which incentivized project acceleration in the first half of the year to mitigate electricity price fluctuations. Local government storage targets, booming large-scale storage demand from regions like the Middle East and Latin America, and the rapid growth of AI-powered data centers have also fueled the surge.
Chile’s Lithium Nationalization sounds an alarm for Chinese investors in Latin America
In April 2025, the Chilean government approved a landmark joint venture between state-owned Codelco and SQM for lithium extraction, signaling a major step forward in the country’s lithium nationalization agenda. The move carries significant implications for China, particularly for Tianqi Lithium, which holds a 22.16% stake in SQM. The development highlights a critical gap in Chinese enterprises’ political risk assessment strategies when investing in Latin America. Going forward, Chinese firms may need to prioritize securing controlling interests and long-term agreements in foreign resource assets. Although Chile’s nationalization efforts are not aimed at China specifically, the shift has damaged Chinese interests and may strain bilateral economic ties.
Chinese Technology Advances in Argentina’s PPG Salt Lake
A team led by researchers at the Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has achieved another milestone with its independently developed “multi-component synergistic extraction–aqueous stripping” lithium extraction technology. Following its successful deployment at a 10,000-ton lithium carbonate plant in Qinghai, the technology is now making significant progress in Argentina’s PPG Salt Lake project, a collaboration with Ganfeng Lithium. The project recently passed Argentina’s environmental impact assessment and is advancing construction on a 5,000-ton-per-year lithium carbonate demonstration plant. The technology targets lithium in high-sodium, low-magnesium brines with over 90% recovery and over 20 g/L lithium in the stripping solution. It uses less than 30 tons of freshwater, 100 kg of acid, and 1000 kWh per ton of lithium, with environmentally compliant waste discharge.
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