(Reuters) – Summit Nanotech said on Tuesday it had secured $25.5 million in funding from a consortium of investment funds, bolstering its work on direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies.
Lithium, the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries, has been produced using water-intensive evaporation ponds or open-pit mines. However, DLE technologies intend to change that.
DLE is described as a faster, more efficient and eco-friendlier process of extracting lithium, contrasting with traditional methods known to cause habitat disruption.
Privately-held Summit Nanotech is developing DLE projects in South America and has BHP as an investor.
The funding round was led by Canadian clean technology investment fund Evok Innovations, BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund, Xora Innovation and Capricorn Investment Group, with participation from Mitsui Kinzoku – SBI Material Innovation Fund and LG Technology Ventures.
“The demand for electric vehicles will soon outpace growth in lithium supply. Summit’s technology addresses this challenge by optimizing lithium extraction from brine to produce high-quality lithium at a lower cost,” said Cheri Corbett, partner at BDC Capital’s Climate Tech Fund.
(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
