Call for brine mining startups

Lately, I’ve been focusing on researching brine mining, and more broadly, critical mineral security for the future of western industry. Brine mining is the process of extracting useful minerals from salty water (i.e., the brine). The reason this is interesting is because it can provide an alternative to traditional hard-rock mining for lithium and other materials critical to modern industries. Brine mining is an actively evolving field, and as of 2024, there are several macro tailwinds propelling it forward for a strong "why now":

1. Growing EV adoption and the “electrification” of society creates higher demand for critical minerals used in electric motors, batteries, etc.
2. China having near-monopolistic power over critical mineral reserves, mining and production. China accounts for over 50% of global refining of aluminum, lithium and cobalt, 90% of that of rare earth metals and manganese and 100% of that of natural graphite¹. This, combined with the increasing US-China power conflict, is creating an incentive for US and US allies to secure their own supplies of critical materials. This shift will take many forms. For example, the Inflation Reduction Act in the US makes companies that use materials from China ineligible for EV tax credits². More generally, geopolitical conflicts of any kind tend to disrupt supply chains, further motivating countries to localize extraction.
3. The global energy transition is leading from a traditional, centralized grid to a decentralized grid with renewables, microgrid solutions and more energy storage. Specifically, we will need a lot more balancing capacity and energy storage to accommodate renewables. This, unless a new battery technology is invented, will require new infrastructure and lithium-ion batteries.

The brine in brine mining can come from any salty source. It can be sea or ocean water, although in practice it’s either sub-surface brine reservoirs or hypersaline outputs from industries. These sources are scattered around the world. The opportunity is not that traditional hard-rock mining is “running out.” It’s more that brine is an entirely different approach with different characteristics and economics that can make it attractive for certain use cases over traditional hard-rock.

The term brine mining by itself only specifies that “what”, not the “how.” There are 10+ methods for it, and while only a few of those are conventionally proven, there’s ongoing research in the space with new technologies coming out, especially in a subfield called direct lithium extraction (DLE). A key takeaway from my research has been that while lithium, cobalt and similar minerals are extremely important for modern industry, the economics of conventional evaporation-based methods aren't as favorable as that of oil – at current trends, they will not be enough to make even their host countries rich³. For large-scale progress, new and superior technology will be necessary.

Spec for ideal technology

I compiled a set of criteria for the ideal technology from an efficiency, impact and an economic perspective. The more of these criteria a technology fits, the better. One that fits many or all would be an excellent investment opportunity:

1. Few steps of operation to achieve extraction (from raw materials to LCE⁴ product)
2. No custom-built components, commodity components
3. Either low-energy requirement or preferential access to energy (e.g. waste heat)
4. Low maintenance requirement
5. Low labor requirement
6. Modularity
7. Recyclable components
8. Must have either no harmful byproducts, or have byproducts that are recyclable
9. Regulatory safety and predictability (methodology and geographic location of extraction)

These criteria are meant to be used as a guide to grade technologies and to invite dialogue on what constitutes a good technology. If you’re working in the space on a new solution that fits these, or have feedback on improving the spec, please reach out.