Article

Standard Lithium is set to utilize a new Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) method to access approximately 19 million tons of lithium in the Smackover Formation, Arkansas, projected to be worth $2.3 trillion. The DLE technology will allow the company to harvest lithium by 2028, meeting a significant portion of global electric vehicle battery demand.

A $225 million federal grant will support the construction of a processing plant in Lewisville, creating hundreds of jobs and positioning the US as a major lithium supplier. The Smackover Formation, containing brine-rich limestone, has been used for oil and natural gas extraction, inadvertently revealing lithium reserves. US Geological Survey estimates indicate that the lithium could replace US imports and potentially produce up to 20 trillion cell phone batteries, significantly impacting the nation's reliance on foreign lithium.