Volt Lithium has completed the final assembly of its proprietary mobile direct lithium extraction (DLE) unit and plans to deploy it in North Dakota’s Bakken region in the second half of June 2025. The project, developed in partnership with Wellspring Hydro, has received $2.5 million in funding from the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and Renewable Energy Program.
Pending shareholder approval, Volt Lithium is rebranding as LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners. Its DLE technology and processes are designed to adapt to various brine chemistries, enabling the company to extract lithium from produced water streams generated by oil and gas operations. The Bakken deployment follows Volt’s first field unit, which was launched in September 2024 in the Permian Basin and upgraded to a Generation 5 system by February 2025, making it North America’s largest operational DLE facility.
Wellspring president and CEO Mark Watson said: “Wellspring and the State of North Dakota are excited to commence field operations with Volt in North Dakota in the second half of June.
“Volt is the only DLE company that the State Of North Dakota has funded to date,” he added. “Based upon the successful lithium extraction results at Volt’s R&D [research and development] facility in Calgary, both groups have full confidence Volt’s proprietary lithium extraction unit will be successful in the field.”
The Bakken project complements Volt’s presence in the Permian Basin, positioning the company in two of North America’s largest oil-producing regions. Estimates suggest the Permian could yield up to 170,000 tonnes per annum (tpa) of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), while the Bakken may produce up to 50,000 tpa, benefiting from lithium concentrations nearly three times higher than those in the Permian.
Volt Lithium is building an inventory of lithium chloride and converting it into high-purity lithium carbonate to meet potential off-taker requirements. By collaborating with existing salt-water disposal operators, the company aims to reduce capital and operating costs. Alex Wylie, Volt Lithium’s president and CEO, highlighted strong industry interest in its modular, rapidly deployable DLE units and their ability to adapt to varying oilfield conditions and lithium grades.
The upcoming Bakken deployment is expected to demonstrate the versatility of Volt’s modular extraction process and improve project economics across diverse basins.
Source: Mining Technology
