Element3 Resources

About Element3 Resources

Element3 extracts lithium from oil and gas wastewater using proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology developed from DOE-funded research and recognized with a 2024 R&D 100 Award. Our modular, skid-mounted extraction plants deploy alongside existing water midstream infrastructure in the Permian Basin, converting produced water into battery-grade lithium carbonate at a fraction of the cost and timeline of conventional mining. No exploration, no new permitting, and no Chinese supply chain dependency. We are the only company commercially producing lithium from produced water in North America today.

Team

William Wade

Employee

Problem statement

The U.S. imports virtually all of its lithium while sitting on the largest untapped domestic source: over one trillion gallons of oilfield wastewater produced annually. Conventional lithium projects require 7 to 15 years to permit and build, cost $40,000 to $60,000+ per ton of annual capacity, and face mounting regulatory and environmental opposition. Meanwhile, the battery supply chain remains critically dependent on foreign suppliers. Element3 solves this by extracting lithium from feedstock that is already at the surface, already permitted, and already flowing through billions of dollars of existing infrastructure, delivering domestic lithium in months rather than decades.

Traction information

Only company commercially producing lithium from produced water in North America. 3,000 TPA facility operational in Midland, TX.
R&D 100 Award with Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL)
Gen1 demo: 500 BWPD, 132 days continuous. Gen2: 1,250 BWPD, fully automated

Updates

Profile created.

Added 12 days ago