Lithium is a challenging mineral
Something had to change
Environment
Traditional lithium extraction requires calcination at 1,100 degrees celsius, a sulphuric acid roast at 250 degrees and multiple purification steps that also leaves byproducts (such as gypsum) which are environmentally challenging to dispose of and environmentally unfriendly.
Dominance
Almost all lithium extraction and purification for battery metals occurs in China and multiple Australian and US plants have been mothballed as they cannot compete on cost. Finding new options for processing critical minerals is important.
Efficiency
Hard rock lithium extraction is 3-4 time more carbon intensive than brine based extraction and up to 4-6 times more expensive (with lower grade ores being particularly cost sensitive). New technologies are required to bridge this gap.
Opportunity
By removing the calcination step, avoiding damaging chemicals and simplifying extraction, we believe it’s possible to save $1.5-4k per tonne in costs and lower plant capex by 20-40%.
Management
Our team has deep experience in novel milling and digestion technologies and are published experts in ion exchange and membrane processes. With multiple cleantech and resources tech startup successes, we are well positioned to bring GrinDLE to market rapidly and in a capital efficient fashion.
Join
We are quietly building a team and proving up the GrinDLE technology in stealth, with plans to achieve lab scale POC in Q3 2026 and larger scale integrated demonstration in 2027. Send us an email if you would like to know more.