"The industry is so close to a major leap forward," said John Burba, who helped invent a prominent DLE technology and is IBAT's executive chairman.
"DLE technologies could increase the viability of resources that aren't necessarily viable with evaporative technologies," said Alec Lucas of the Global X Lithium & Battery Tech ETFDLE technologies that are portable, able to recycle much of their fresh water and limit hydrochloric acid use are seen as most appealing. By 2030, 13% of the world's lithium will be produced using DLE, projections by commodity price provider Fastmarkets showed.
"Given those demand projections, there's definitely need for more supply from DLE," said Jordan Roberts, a Fastmarkets lithium industry analyst.In a rural Louisiana workyard, IBAT has built an automated DLE plant fabricated with thousands of feet of forest green-colored pipes and tanks that are able to filter 5,000 metric tons of lithium annually.