ElectraLith takes a huge step towards a greener future with a lithium extraction breakthrough
ElectraLith’s DLE-RTM technology is unlocking a green future
ElectraLith, a Monash University spinout, has delivered proof of concept that its Direct Lithium Extraction and Refining (DLE-R) technology can produce battery grade lithium hydroxide from a range of lithium sources using no water, no chemicals and minimal energy.
Backed by Rio Tinto, IP Group and Monash Investment Holdings, ElectraLith’s DLE-RTM technology is unlocking a green future and emerging as the cleanest, most versatile and cost-efficient method for extracting and refining lithium, the fundamental element driving a sustainable future.
Highlighting the significance and urgency to reduce the economic and environmental costs of lithium production, ElectraLith’s DLE-R technology produced battery grade lithium hydroxide from a range of lithium sources including salar brines, geothermal oilfield brines and spodumene leach in locations across the US, Argentina and Australia.
DLE-R is an end-to-end electro-membrane and electrodialysis technology producing battery grade lithium hydroxide as its final product. DLE-R revolutionises DLE and refining processes by extracting and producing the product in a single, scalable and modular step. Other DLE technologies generally require further processing and energy to produce a usable lithium chloride product.
Lithium is an essential element in ‘clean energy’. It is used to make batteries for electric vehicles and wind and solar power storage. Most processes to extract lithium are costly and have negative impacts on the environment such as carbon dioxide emissions, mineral waste, chemical pollution, and the subsequent alteration of the hydrological cycle from the use of vast quantities of water.
“These results validate the true potential of DLE-R across lithium resource type, quality and concentration,” said ElectraLith CEO Charlie McGill. “We’re particularly excited about the Paradox Basin Utah result, where DLE-R produced 99.9% pure lithium hydroxide from Mandrake’s geothermal oilfield brines without water, an increasingly scarce resource in the broader Colorado River Basin.
“This, coupled with the production of lithium hydroxide from a brine with less than 60 parts per million, demonstrates that DLE-R can unlock otherwise unviable strategic reserves in the United States and Australia.”
“Seeing the progression of this company from university research to a functional proof of concept is a testament to the drive of the research team and the supportive innovation ecosystem Monash provides to our community,” said Dr Alastair Hick, Monash University’s Chief Commercialisation Officer.
ElectraLith’s patented DLE-stage membranes are based on revolutionary work conducted by Professor Huanting Wang, Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow within the Faculty of Engineering.
“The outstanding performance of the DLE-R process is a critical step forward for Mandrake as we seek to commercialise our expansive Utah Lithium Project,” said Mandrake CEO James Allchurch. “DLE-R is perfectly suited to the water chemistry of the Paradox Basin, and we look forward to partnering with ElectraLith in processing larger volumes of brine from the Utah Lithium Project.”
The proof of concept coincides with the delivery of an American Association of Cost Engineers Class 5 Technoeconomic Analysis Report conducted by Worley Consulting. This report follows an eight-month review leveraging Worley’s global expertise in the US, Canada and Australia, as well as input from Rio Tinto.
It also coincides with the delivery of a Process Model performed by Dr Mike Dry of Arithmetek Inc., a globally recognised expert in the field of process and early-stage cost modelling; as well as a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) performed by Minviro. Minviro is a global sustainability and LCA authority with offices in the UK, Australia and China.
“These reports provide an important validation of ElectraLith’s revolutionary DLE-R process,” said Mike Molinari, IP Group Australia Managing Director and ElectraLith Chair. “As we enter the prototyping stage, our relationships with these world-class consultants will be vital to delivering on DLE-R potential to reshape the lithium industry.”
“We invested in ElectraLith to support their DLE-R technology, and we are pleased that it is showing real potential to significantly reduce the economic and environmental costs of lithium production,” said Travis Baroni, Rio Tinto Chief Advisor for Battery Minerals and ElectraLith Non-Executive Director.
The ElectraLith team and Rio Tinto will trial and test the first DLE-R prototype at Rio Tinto’s Rincon Project in Argentina in 2026.
Learn more about ElectraLith and its journey with Monash Innovation here.