SWA Lithium, a joint venture (JV) between Standard Lithium and Equinor, is advancing its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology at the South West Arkansas project.
In collaboration with Koch Technology Solutions (KTS), the venture has successfully designed, built and commissioned a pilot DLE plant.
This plant processes brine directly from the site to confirm engineering design parameters and produce battery-quality lithium carbonate.
The pilot DLE plant utilises KTS’ Li-Pro Lithium Selective Sorption technology, a key component in the project’s development.
Brine is sourced from the JV’s IPC (installed production capacity) well, providing a representative composition for the project, with operations at the pilot DLE plant ongoing and expected to continue until late January 2025.
By then, sufficient operational experience and design data will be gathered. The pilot is projected to produce approximately 3,785 litres of concentrated and purified lithium chloride solution (6% LiCl solution).
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By GlobalData
The 3,785 litres of 6% LiCl solution will be sent to three potential carbonate equipment vendors that will collectively produce around 30kg of battery-quality lithium carbonate.
The produced lithium carbonate will be used for the initial qualification phases with potential off-take partners.
Vendor performance will inform the JV’s decision on selecting vendors for the carbonate portion of the first commercial facility.
Standard Lithium director and president Andy Robinson commented: “The Standard Lithium and Equinor teams, along with our various engineering partners are working hard on the design for our first commercial lithium facility, which will be constructed in south-western Arkansas in Lafayette and Columbia counties.
“To date, in order to support that design work, we have been using the huge amount of DLE and flowsheet performance data that we have collected at our demonstration plant, combined with test work completed by KTS using our SWA Project brines.
“This field-based pilot DLE plant is the final step in ensuring that we have exactly the right data to confirm our design and be sure that we know how our commercial plant will operate once constructed.”
Additionally, the company has granted 863,852 stock options, 423,325 restricted share units (RSUs) and 182,040 deferred share units (DSUs) to management and directors under its shareholder-approved incentive plans.
The stock options, exercisable at $1.42 per share, expire in five years. A portion vests in equal thirds over 36 months, with the remainder vesting immediately.
The RSUs will vest in equal thirds over 36 months, while the DSUs will vest after one year and settle in common shares upon the holder’s departure from the company or a change of control.
