{"id":122475,"date":"2021-10-06T13:35:23","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T13:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/?p=122475"},"modified":"2021-10-06T13:35:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T13:35:23","slug":"bmw-invests-in-lithium-technology-startup-lilac-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fin2me.com\/markets\/bmw-invests-in-lithium-technology-startup-lilac-solutions\/","title":{"rendered":"BMW invests in lithium technology startup Lilac Solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"
(Reuters) – BMW said on Wednesday it will invest in lithium technology startup Lilac Solutions Inc to support more-efficient ways to produce the electric vehicle battery metal.<\/p> Privately-held Lilac is part of a growing number of technology developers seeking to extract lithium from saltwater brines faster, cheaper and with less water than evaporation ponds, which have long been the industry standard.<\/p>\n BMW, which already buys lithium from China\u2019s Ganfeng Lithium Co and other traditional lithium producers, said it sees Lilac\u2019s technology as a way to boost global production of the white metal as demand grows from the EV market.<\/p>\n \u201cThis holds the promise of becoming a new extraction technology that allows access to more green lithium,\u201d said Kasper Sage of BMW i Ventures, BMW\u2019s venture capital fund.<\/p>\n The German automaker is participating in Lilac\u2019s Series B funding round alongside SK Materials Co, Sumitomo Corp investment arm Presidio Ventures and others.<\/p>\n BMW declined to discuss its investment amount, though the total from all investors announced on Wednesday was less than $20 million, according to regulatory filings. T. Rowe Price and others were part of an initial $130 million funding round for Lilac\u2019s Series B announced last month.<\/p>\n Lilac plans to use the funds to construct a U.S. manufacturing facility for ion exchange beads, which are core to its extraction process.<\/p>\n The company last month agreed to use its technology here to develop a lithium project in Argentina with Lake Resources NL.<\/p>\n \u201cLilac has focused on proving our technology is reliable and scalable. And that\u2019s been resonating with members of the supply chain,\u201d said Dave Snydacker, Lilac\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n Lilac\u2019s peers include privately held EnergySource Minerals LLC and Energy Exploration Technologies Inc, as well as Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd, Standard Lithium Ltd and E3 Metals Corp.<\/p>\n