On Tuesday, General Motors Co, a multinational automobile manufacturing company, announced its investment in lithium technology startup EnergyX. The automaker plans to invest $50 million to help EnergyX expand its business across South and North America. According to Reuters, the reason behind this move of General Motors is its plan to move into the mining industry and ensure the long-term supply of lithium used in the manufacturing of EV batteries.
EnergyX is a privately-held company that developed the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology and gained popularity among EV vehicle manufacturing companies. With this investment, General Motors aims to get help from EnergyX to filter the metals for its Lithium battery packs from different types of brine that are widely ignored by the mining industry.
In the press release, General Motors stated, “After a successful five-month pilot program proving the efficacy of the LiTAS lithium refinery process, EnergyX will scale those systems to more robust market demonstration plants located at five regional test beds in North and South America, followed by full-scale commercialisation.”
The automaker plans to lead a series B funding to source an investment to EnergyX that will help the lithium-technology startup expand its business operations. However, General Motors declined to say anything about the amount of funding during the Series B round.
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Teague Eagen, Founder and CEO of EnergyX, said, “This GM investment will completely change the trajectory of EnergyX.” As part of this investment, General Motors’ scientists will work with EnergyX to help it commercialise the DLE technology and try to succeed where its rivals like Lilac Solutions Inc., backed by BMW, have so far failed. With a $50 million investment, General Motors is set to enter the mining industry and meet its feature demand regarding lithium. It also benefits EnergyX in terms of business expansion in new regions of the United States.
