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Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) Bill Gates Led Fund Backs Lake Technology
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 Lithium explorer and developer Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) (FRA:LK1) is pleased to announce that Lake's technology provider of a direct extraction ion exchange process, Lilac Solutions, has raised US$20 million in Series A funding. Led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion fund established by many of the world's top business leaders to support companies with the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the round includes participation from MIT's The Engine fund, Lowercarbon Capital, and The Grantham Foundation.
Lilac is commercialising a new ion exchange technology for lithium extraction from brine resources that is significantly faster, cheaper, and more scalable than existing technology. The process does away with the need for large evaporation ponds and is able to return the lithium-depleted brine back underground. Lilac's funding will enable the expansion of its engineering team, scale up production of its unique ion exchange beads, the core of the company's lithium extraction system, and deploy the Lilac technology.
"This is a great vote of confidence in Lake's strategy from known successful investors to use direct extraction methods to produce high purity lithium. This is quality, third party validation in Lake selecting Lilac as our technology provider providing increased efficiency in recoveries and a shorter time to market with sustainable lithium products and a smaller environmental footprint without expansive evaporation ponds", said Lake's Managing Director Steve Promnitz. "These investors made money by investing in disruptive technologies, seeing opportunities and promoting higher efficiencies with greater environmental outcomes."
Carmichael Roberts of Breakthrough Energy Ventures stated that "While the electrification of vehicles is one of the most promising opportunities to reduce global emissions, today's limited supplies of battery raw materials like lithium and cobalt challenge this transition. Lilac Solutions' novel technology can change the supply and demand equation by helping lithium producers extract much larger quantities at a significantly lower cost, and from new sources. This is the type of industrial innovation required to support a transition to EVs at scale."
David Snydacker, Chief Executive Officer of Lilac Solutions, stated that "Other companies have tried to build these ion-exchange beads in the past, but they were either not selective enough at picking lithium out of the mixture of minerals or fell apart after just a few cycles."
Lake aims for sustainable lithium production at its Kachi Lithium Brine Project producing a high quality, low impurity product capable of attracting premium pricing. The PFS which is almost completed is anticipated to show production costs in the lower part of the global cost curve.
The direct extraction process, together with the Kachi project, offers a sustainable solution for the downstream battery makers by extracting lithium from brines using ion exchange without traditional evaporation ponds. Brine is returned to the aquifer once the lithium has been extracted without changing the brine chemistry. This addresses increasing interest from electric vehicle makers (OEM's) and battery makers to demonstrate they have access to a sustainable scalable supply chain for raw materials.
Brine samples are being transported from Kachi and expected to arrive late next week to the docks in Oakland, California. These brine samples will be initially used to complete the commissioning of a Lilac Solutions pilot-scale ion exchange module. High-purity lithium chloride will be produced for conversion to battery-grade lithium carbonate. Deliveries of lithium carbonate samples to downstream groups are being planned to start the qualification process with off takers.
Lake looks forward to reporting on progress through to first large samples being produced late next month.
To view the release, please visit:
https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/157QPL0Q
Steve Promnitz
Managing Director
Lake Resources N.L.
T: +61-2-9188-7864
E: steve@lakeresources.com.au
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