Monash University spinout ElectraLith has closed an oversubscribed AUD 27.5 million Series A funding round to advance the development and deployment of its first field-based pilot plant.
The facility will produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide on-site without using water or chemicals, as revealed in a media release.
The funding round attracted a prominent group of investors, including IP Group, Hostplus, Rio Tinto, Chevron Technology Ventures, Fathom Fund, Breakthrough Victoria, Vista Energy, Marathon Petroleum, In-Q-Tel, and Monash University.
Australian deep-tech investment firm Main Sequence led the round, according to a statement from ElectraLith.
“The Series A funds will enable DLE-R’s rapid development into what we believe will be the cleanest, most versatile, and most cost-efficient method to extract and refine lithium,” said ElectraLith CEO Charlie McGill.
“The quality, breadth, and scope of the Series A investor syndicate provides the strongest signal yet of DLE-R’s full potential. This includes four blue-chip strategic investors, three globally recognised venture capital firms, one of Australia’s largest superannuation funds, Breakthrough Victoria, and In-Q-Tel, the not-for-profit strategic investor for the US national security community and America’s allies.”
Travis Baroni, Chief Advisor for Battery Minerals at Rio Tinto and ElectraLith Non-Executive Director, commented: “Rio Tinto continues to see the potential of ElectraLith’s DLE-R technology to significantly reduce the economic cost and environmental impact of lithium production, and we’re looking forward to trialling ElectraLith’s first DLE-R pilot in the near future.”
According to ElectraLith, its breakthrough technology has also attracted attention from other major industry players.
Jim Gable, Vice President of Innovation at Chevron’s Technical Center, noted, “The technology developed by ElectraLith has the potential to reduce the cost, energy, waste, and water intensity of direct lithium extraction (DLE) and refining, which could provide an attractive alternative to incumbent technologies.”
Gable added, “This is the latest investment from our $300 million Future Energy Fund II, which focuses on industrial decarbonisation, emerging mobility, energy decentralisation, and the growing circular economy. We welcome ElectraLith to the portfolio.”
In-Q-Tel (IQT), which backs strategic technologies with implications for national security, is also excited about ElectraLith’s potential.
Investor Olivia Jones commented, “IQT is excited to support ElectraLith in advancing DLE technology. With potential to unlock otherwise unviable resources and to bring refining closer to the source, DLE-R has strategic implications for both extracting and processing critical minerals.”
Main Sequence Investment Manager Jun Qu praised ElectraLith’s technological innovation.
“We’re impressed by ElectraLith’s groundbreaking technology, which eliminates the need for water and chemicals and can operate entirely on renewable energy.”
“We are excited to support the ElectraLith team and are eager to see the transformative impact they will have on the lithium supply chain,” Qu concluded.
