E3 Lithium, a Canadian lithium producer, has announced initial results from the first phase of a joint development agreement with Pure Lithium.
The collaboration is focused on producing high-purity lithium metal anodes for batteries using E3 Lithium’s brines and direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, alongside Pure Lithium’s innovative extraction and battery solutions.
On 13 March 2025, E3 Lithium reported using several variations of lithium chloride concentrate from specific points in its commercial facility’s process flow sheet.
These concentrates were transformed into pure lithium metal anodes at Pure Lithium’s Boston facility.
The anodes, electrodeposited onto copper substrates, were then used to assemble batteries for electrochemical performance evaluation.
The lithium metal achieved a purity level of more than 99.9%, as confirmed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis.
The life cycle tests, which measure the number of charge and discharge cycles a battery can undergo while retaining 80% capacity, showed that all cells surpassed 500 cycles.
E3 Lithium president and CEO Chris Doornbos said: “These results confirm that E3’s lithium concentrate can produce battery-ready lithium metal anodes using Pure Lithium’s technology.
“The Pure Lithium team has worked very hard in making these batteries and confirming the performance of our lithium. We are very encouraged by the results, and I am excited by the prospect of developing a local lithium battery supply chain in collaboration with Pure Lithium.”
Additionally, the charge and discharge rates, tested at a balanced 1C:1D ratio, demonstrated a consistent one-hour charge and discharge duration.
The study concluded that E3’s lithium concentrate is not only easily producible but also the most cost-effective feedstock for Pure Lithium’s batteries.
Furthermore, the robustness of Pure Lithium’s process was highlighted by the lack of performance differences between batteries made with lithium chloride from E3’s Leduc Brines and those made from Pure Lithium’s standard sources.
The partnership between E3 Lithium and Pure Lithium continues as they work on developing and planning an integrated process aimed at delivering the highest-purity lithium metal anodes at the lowest possible cost.
Pure Lithium founder, chairman and CEO Emilie Bodoin said: “I am delighted to reinvent the lithium supply chain with E3 Lithium. We not only produced pure lithium metal anodes from unconventional sources of lithium using a newly invented technology but also validated their performance by cycling them in over 100 batteries.
“Rigorous electrochemical testing of battery materials is imperative, and to get such great results consistently, using a technology that was specifically developed to be cost effective, is truly exciting.”
