Gradiant launches alkaLi, powered by EC2 battery-grade lithium production process

Gradiant, a global solutions provider for advanced water and wastewater treatment, announces the spin-out of alkaLi, a standalone company dedicated to accelerating the scaling of battery-grade lithium production. alkaLi is powered by EC², the world's only all-in-one solution engineered to Extract, Concentrate, and Convert battery-grade lithium.

With electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and portable electronic devices driving global demand for lithium, EC² offers producers a new means to rapidly scale lithium production. EC² features instantaneous production measured in seconds, not years; reduced costs with 50% lower OPEX and zero CAPEX costs; industry-leading sustainability with significantly reduced carbon and water footprints; and expedited permitting to meet the global lithium demand. The complete system is balanced, integrated, and adapts to a broad range of source inputs.

alkaLi’s EC² is a highly modular, three-stage system adaptable to the broadest range of source inputs to date, including brine, evaporation, and recycling. The technology can be deployed in full or standalone stages, integrated with existing site infrastructure with an option to supercharge production with SmartOps AI. EC² has been bench-tested and field-tested, and successfully completed a commercial proving system with SLB in 2023. alkaLi will continue to offer the business model flexibility that Gradiant is renowned for: providing producers with a zero CAPEX option in which the company builds, owns and operates the solution.

“A clear purpose drives Gradiant, and that is to ensure water for generations to come. With that comes an affinity for holistic environmental solutions beyond water, including the successful electrification of our societies to reduce the burden on fossil fuels,” says Prakash Govindan, COO of Gradiant. “Demand for lithium is outstripping supply. We must accelerate the scale of production solutions, and it is for this reason that we will spin out alkaLi, a completely independent company with a dedicated focus on maximizing the production efficiency of battery-grade lithium.”

“Gradiant is different. We're more than a water company; we're a technology company,” adds Siva Kumar Kota, head of technology. “Our revolutionary RO Infinity with Counter-Flow Reverse Osmosis technology powers EC². CFRO operates with significantly lower demand for energy and water, concentrating to limits approaching saturation without the environmental impacts common in incumbent technologies.”

alkaLi's EC² solution sets new industry standards to Extract, Concentrate, and Convert battery-grade lithium with optimized efficiency and sustainability throughout each stage:

Extraction: Synthesized resins and novel membranes optimize lithium extraction far beyond industry norms, uniquely reaching Generation II levels and the richest lithium stream possible for maximum downstream efficiency. A second Li-lean stream is output, and each flows to CFRO units in the Concentration Stage.

Concentration: Powered by Gradiant's award-winning CFRO to maximize system efficiency, consuming an order of magnitude less energy than thermal processes.

• CFRO I receives the Li-rich stream and further concentrates to levels sufficient to convert to battery-grade lithium
• CFRO II receives the Li-lean stream and reduces TDS to below regulatory limits, allowing expedited permitting

Conversion: The concentrated lithium is precipitated into a solid to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) or lithium hydroxide (LiOH).

alkaLi is onboarding new customer partners now.