How they're accelerating the rate of change...
Summit Nanotech Corporation has developed a novel low-cost, direct lithium extraction (DLE) process to produce lithium, commonly used for electric vehicles, electronics, and renewable energy storage. Their technology avoids the need for evaporation ponds and large chemical-based refineries to concentrate lithium brine—a process that is slow, expensive, and environmentally harmful. Implementation of their technology will reduce opex by over $1,000 per tonne lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), reduce land-use area by 26x/t LCE, reduce chemical waste by 90%, and reduces GHG emissions by half of the industrial average/t LCE. With lithium demand expected to rise 500% in the next 6 years, and growing pressure from governments and society to support more sustainable processes, Summit's technology is poised to disrupt the lithium mining space.
