Equinor ASA is buying stakes in two lithium venture firms within the USA in a transfer to speculate extra within the vitality transition.
Equinor mentioned in a information launch that it has entered into an settlement with Normal Lithium Ltd to amass a forty five % share in two lithium venture firms in Southwest Arkansas and East Texas.
Below the phrases of the settlement, Equinor will “compensate Normal Lithium for $30 million in previous prices web to the acquired curiosity and can carry Normal Lithium’s CAPEX of $33 million to progress the belongings in direction of a doable ultimate funding resolution,” in line with the discharge. Equinor famous that it’ll make milestone funds of as much as $70 million in mixture to Normal Lithium if a ultimate funding resolution is taken.
Normal Lithium and Equinor will respectively personal 55 % and 45 % of the 2 venture firms, with Normal Lithium retaining operatorship. Equinor will help the operator with core competencies corresponding to subsurface and venture execution capabilities.
“Sustainably produced lithium will be an enabler within the vitality transition, and we imagine it might develop into a horny enterprise,” Morten Halleraker, senior vice chairman for New Enterprise and Investments in Know-how, Digital and Innovation at Equinor, mentioned. “This funding is an choice with restricted upfront monetary dedication. We will make the most of core applied sciences from oil and fuel in a complementary partnership to mature these initiatives in direction of a doable ultimate funding resolution”.
In response to the discharge, lithium is a vital mineral within the vitality transition and is required to satisfy the projected progress in electrical automobiles and broader battery vitality storage. Manufacturing of lithium from subsurface reservoirs with Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) applied sciences is rising as a manufacturing technique with a decrease environmental footprint than conventional strategies.
DLE is a know-how that extracts lithium from brines positioned deep underground and reinjects the brine with out lithium again into the subsurface via a second injector nicely.
Equinor started testing DLE applied sciences in 2018 to construct an understanding of the way to scale-up together with pre-treatment of subsurface brines and processing battery-grade lithium chemical substances.
In 2021, Equinor Ventures invested in Lithium de France, which is creating DLE and geothermal initiatives in France.
Final month, Equinor accepted its first two battery storage initiatives within the USA in step with its bid to develop into a pacesetter within the vitality transition. The 2 initiatives have a mixed complete capability of 110 megawatts (MW), offering a beneficial supply of vitality safety for the Texas grid as soon as operational, the corporate mentioned in a separate information launch.
Equinor famous that building has begun on the Sundown Ridge Power Heart in Frio County, Texas; whereas its Citrus Flatts venture in Cameron County, Texas is being ready for implementation. As soon as operational, Citrus Flatts and Sundown Ridge are deliberate to be commercialized by Equinor’s wholly owned vitality buying and selling home, Danske Commodities.
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