On 21 February 2020, Lithium explorer and developer Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE) announced that its technology partner Lilac Solutions has raised USD 20 million in Series A funding from Bill Gates Led Fund Breakthrough Energy. USD 1 billion Breakthrough Energy fund is generally used to support the startup working in the field of emission reduction.
Lilac direct extraction ion-exchange process permits reinjection of brines post the recovery of lithium to the aquifer. The process provides lesser GHG emissions since all the brines is send back to the underground in comparison to traditional evaporation ponds. The direct extraction ion-exchange provide considerably cheaper, faster and more scalable output than existing technology.
The funding of Lilac technology is likely to instill enormous confidence to the Lake Resources to deliver high-quality and low impurity battery-grade product with the capacity to charge a premium on the product. Also, the production is anticipated to be on the lower quartile of the cost curve.