BHP, Capricorn back startup promising cleaner lithium mining

Capricorn Investment Group and BHP Group’s venture capital unit are backing a startup that says its processes make for cleaner and more efficient mining in lithium, the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries.

Summit Nanotech Corp. said in a statement that it closed on a $14 million investment round co-led by Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund and Temasek’s Xora Innovation, along with BHP Ventures. Funds will be used to help commercialize Summit’s technology.

Summit is tapping into an accelerating race among mining heavyweights and automakers to control more supplies of raw materials that are key to transitioning to low-carbon energy sources. Investors are pressing miners to ensure that battery metals including lithium, nickel and cobalt are produced ethically and in an environmentally friendly way amid a global push to reduce pollution in worldwide economies. 

The Calgary-based startup also plans to raise at least $100 million in series B funding by the end of this year or early next year and has already engaged in talks with three automakers, according to Founder and Chief Executive Officer Amanda Hall.

(By Yvonne Yue Li)