E3 Lithium Ltd. (ETL-X) and lithium battery technology company Pure Lithium Corp. will be partnering on plans for a battery facility in Alberta that will use the lithium from E3’s brine operations.

Calgary-based E3 and Boston-based Pure will collaborate on the design of a lithium metal anode and battery pilot plant near Calgary, and aim to work on an economic assessment of a commercial lithium metal battery facility that will also be in Alberta.

E3 is a lithium brine project developer that has plans to take the lithium hydroxide from its Clearwater site in Alberta to be refined into lithium carbonate and/or lithium metal for use in batteries.

The lithium extracted from E3’s projects such as Clearwater and Pure’s Brine to Battery process will be used for the projects. Combining E3’s lithium production and Pure’s technology simplifies the work, according to a release.

The pilot is designed to produce 200 kilograms of lithium metal anodes usable for rechargeable batteries.

A schedule for the pilot and commercial facilities was not provided, nor expected production from a commercial-scale site.

“Integrating the E3 DLE (direct lithium extraction) flow sheet with Pure Lithium’s electrodeposition technology shows significant promise to deliver low cost, sustainable batteries that would be industry leading,” Chris Doornbos, president and CEO of E3 Lithium, said in the announcement.

E3 and Pure’s relationship

The connection between E3 and Pure began in 2022, when the two companies announced Pure used the lithium from E3’s DLE to create a pouch cell battery. A memorandum of understanding was signed to continue battery testing.

Pure is designing what it claims are the first rechargeable non-flammable lithium metal batteries, which it says can be more affordable because the company uses readily available lithium salts.

“Securing a supply of lithium is something all battery and battery material companies have historically struggled to do. We are doing things differently and solving this problem with trusted partners prior to the commencement of battery production,” Emilie Bodoin, founder and CEO of Pure Lithium, said in the latest release.

She added producing lithium metal anodes from lithium concentrate “dramatically reduces the cost of battery production” and eliminates the need to prepare anodes for shipping, which will increase battery performance.

Anticipated production at Clearwater is an initial 32,250 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, then falling to an average of 25,850 tonnes per year over a 50-year period.

A webinar hosted by Doornbos outlined the schedule for Clearwater: project financing to start in Q3 2025; then permits, equipment orders and a final investment decision in Q4 2025; construction is anticipated to start by the first half of 2026; then operations are slated to start in the second half of 2027.

The company stressed the small environmental impact of Clearwater, based on plans for a limited land footprint compared to hard rock mining and solar evaporation, production of a fraction of the carbon emissions and no water discharging into the local environment.

“We are very excited to be taking this next step with Emilie and her team to bring the battery out of the lab and into Alberta, an accomplishment that would be a major step towards a commercial Brine to Battery process,” Doornbos said.

Sustainable Biz Canada has reached out to E3 Lithium for further comment.