GM-backed EnergyX to launch Texas lithium facility
EnergyX, a startup backed by General Motors, said on Thursday it has commissioned a lithium production facility at its project Lonestar, located in the Smackover formation in Texas.
Lithium demand has been surging globally, driven by the role of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, portable electronics and increased adoption of renewable energy storage solutions.
The Lonestar demonstration plant is operational and will produce roughly 250 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent, the company said.
EnergyX expects production to scale to more than 100,000 metric tons per year.
Lithium refining remains a bottleneck in the US, with China controlling about 70%-75% of global lithium chemical conversion capacity.
The reliance on China for battery-grade lithium chemicals has kept margins low for domestic producers, undermining the economics of most non-Chinese projects, EnergyX said.
The company said the facility enables it to further optimize system design, validate process economics, and provide 5-25 ton samples of battery grade lithium to customers for qualification.
The Smackover formation is an underground geological formation stretching from Florida to Texas and could contain more than 4 million metric tons of lithium.
Companies aiming to extract lithium from the Smackover will need to use direct lithium extraction, a process that has yet to be widely proven at a commercial scale, with most projects still in pilot or early deployment.
(By Dharna Bafna)
Site visit: EnergyX launches first US direct lithium extraction plant in Texas
At a packed event in Hooks, Texas, EnergyX this week unveiled a first-of-its-kind lithium production facility — project Lonestar — marking a significant step toward establishing a scalable domestic supply of battery-grade lithium in the United States.
The company’s now operational demonstration plant is capable of producing approximately 250 metric tons per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
While modest in output on a global scale, the facility represents a critical validation of EnergyX’s proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and refining technologies under real-world, industrial conditions.
EnergyX can now internally produce a core component of its ‘GET-Lit’ lithium separation technology portfolio at an industrial scale.
“Bringing the biggest integrated DLE lithium demonstration plant online in the United States is a foundational milestone for EnergyX and for US domestic lithium production,” EnergyX CEO Teague Egan said.
“This facility not only validates the performance of our technology on an industrial scale under real-world conditions but also establishes EnergyX as the lowest cost producer in the US.”
The project arrives amid rapidly accelerating global demand for lithium, driven by the growth of electric vehicles, grid-scale energy storage and emerging technologies. EV adoption alone has surged from roughly 85,000 vehicles in 2010 to around 20 million in 2025, with demand set to keep increasing. At the same time, energy storage systems are expanding at an estimated 50% year-over-year pace.
Industry observers view the demonstration facility as a crucial intermediary step between pilot-scale testing and full commercial deployment. By validating process economics and system design, EnergyX is positioning itself to expand across its broader US lithium footprint.
Located in the Smackover formation — a lithium-rich brine resource that stretches from Florida to Texas— the plant is the first DLE facility in the state to process locally sourced brine.
EnergyX has amassed a substantial position in the region, controlling 47,500 acres. Project Lonestar Lithium enables EnergyX to further optimize system design, validate process economics, and provide 5-25 ton samples of battery grade lithium to customers for qualification. The facility is the last step before commercial expansion across the company’s growing US lithium footprint.
EnergyX invested $30 million into the demonstration plant, and plans next to build the commercial plant, which will be over a $1 billion investment, Egan told MINING.COM, adding that the company has secured offtakes, but they are not public yet.
Egan maintains the company’s cost profile is the most competitive in the industry. See graph:
Texas senator speaks
US policymakers have increasingly emphasized the importance of securing domestic supply chains for critical minerals. Senator Ted Cruz highlighted the project’s potential role in supporting energy security and defense readiness by supplying materials essential for advanced battery technologies.
Cruz spoke virtually to the company at the event, which was attended by 200 and live streamed to thousands.
“Congratulations to EnergyX and its CEO Teague Egan on opening the first-of-its-kind lithium processing facility right here in Texas,” Cruz said.
“The lithium produced at Project Lonestar will help bolster US energy security and defense readiness by supplying the critical materials needed for batteries used in critical military technology.”
Reducing US reliance on China
The facility is designed to demonstrate improvements in extraction efficiency, recovery rates and cost competitiveness — key factors that have historically limited the viability of lithium refining outside China.
Currently, China dominates an estimated 70–75% of global lithium chemical conversion capacity, creating a major bottleneck in the global battery supply chain. This concentration has left the US reliant on foreign processing, even when domestic lithium resources are available.
Project Lonestar aims to address that imbalance by providing a scalable, cost-effective pathway for domestic refining. The plant will also produce sample quantities of battery-grade lithium — ranging from 5 to 25 tons — for qualification by downstream customers, including battery and cathode manufacturers.
Additional demand is emerging from sectors such as defense technology and robotics, reinforcing projections that lithium requirements will rise dramatically over the next several decades.
For EnergyX, the Lonestar plant represents more than a technical milestone. It is a strategic attempt to reshape the economics of lithium refining in the United States — unlocking stranded resources, reducing reliance on foreign processing and laying the groundwork for a more resilient domestic battery materials ecosystem.
If successful at scale, the approach could help rebalance the global lithium supply chain at a time when demand is poised to outstrip historical norms.
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