Sodium-ion battery startup sparks lithium alternative
Peak Energy received $55 million in funding to scale up production of sodium-ion batteries that the company is positioning as an alternative to the widely used lithium-ion technology.
Pioneer Natural Resources Co., one of the largest US shale drillers, is experimenting with mining lithium from wastewater produced in the fracking process.
Chief executive officer Scott Sheffield told Bloomberg Television that the company started doing tests about three years ago to see whether it’s feasible to extract minerals from the large amounts of dirty water generated by drilling in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico.
In addition to lithium, a key component of electric vehicle batteries, it might be possible to produce ammonia and gold from wastewater, Sheffield said. His comments came after Bloomberg News reported that Exxon Mobil Corp. is in talks with automakers including Tesla Inc. about supplying them with lithium.
“We produce lots of water and we do have lithium in our water, so we’ve got some experiments going on to look at mining some of the important minerals in our water,” said Sheffield, adding that ammonia and gold could also potentially be extracted. “We’re all trying to figure out how to increase profitability.”
Sheffield also offered a prediction on oil prices, saying he expects Brent crude to surge to $100 a barrel by the end of the year as the OPEC+ coalition extends production cuts over the next few months. He made the forecast even as lackluster global demand weighs on the market.
(By Mitchell Ferman and Alix Steel)
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