Mangrove Lithium receives investment from U.S.-based BMW i Ventures
by CM Staff
Mangrove will use these funds to accelerate the launch of a commercial-scale plant deploying its proprietary, patent-pending technology to refine lithium from a variety of sources.
VANCOUVER — Mangrove Lithium announced on May 17 that it has closed a new investment round led by US-based BMW i Ventures (BiV) and joined by returning investor Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV). Mangrove will use these funds to accelerate the launch of a commercial-scale plant deploying its proprietary, patent-pending technology to refine lithium from a variety of sources. The plant will try and boost existing lithium refining operations and lower lithium refining’s environmental impact. It will also reportedly enable new refining capacity by unlocking untapped resources and converting them to viable reserves.
This round brings the total funds raised by Mangrove’s executive team to $25 million USD.
Demand for lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate continues to rise as the world transitions to electric vehicles (EVs). The International Energy Agency is tracking exponential growth in demand for EVs but says supply chain challenges – especially for battery-grade lithium – hobble car manufacturers and constrain market growth.
“Mangrove’s modular, feedstock-flexible technology has attracted serious investors who see that our technology gets global refining capacity much closer to projected demand,” said Mangrove CEO Saad Dara. “Corporate customers will need resilient lithium supplies with fiscally viable and responsible refining operations. We provide both, which is why these investors see us as positioned to take a central role in global EV scaling.”
In the face of volatile prices and supply uncertainty, major EV manufacturers are seeking to minimize battery supply chain risks.
BiV Managing Partner Kasper Sage said, “There is a substantial need for technologies that enable more environmentally-friendly and cost-effective lithium production, as lithium is a key component in most battery chemistries relevant for EVs. Recent supply chain disruptions and soaring prices have highlighted the importance of investing in this field to make the energy transition a reality. Bringing Mangrove’s core technology to market will be a step function improvement in environmental impact, cost, performance, and flexibility over existing processes today.”
Mangrove Lithium provides a solution to facilitate a resilient supply chain with its mobile plants, ability to process both chloride and sulfate feedstocks, and output battery-grade lithium hydroxide or carbonate. Its technology can reportedly be placed anywhere along the battery manufacturing chain: Situated at refining operations where they’re needed most, at the point of extraction, or point of manufacturing. It is also scalable and able to meet tailored product specifications.
