U.S. Department of Energy awards $225 million to lithium efforts in Southwest Arkansas

Standard Lithium Ltd. and Equinor announced Friday (Sept. 20) that its jointly-owned U.S. subsidiary, SWA Lithium LLC has been selected for up to $225 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

This selection is one of the largest ever awarded to a U.S. critical minerals project and is part of the second wave of funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) aimed at expanding domestic manufacturing of all segments of the battery supply chain and increasing production of critical minerals in the U.S.

None of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation voted in favor of the IIJA. The provisional grant is dependent on completing successful final negotiations with the DOE.

The $225 million funding by the DOE will support the construction of the Central Processing Facility for Phase 1 of the Southwest Arkansas project, which is being designed to annually produce 22,500 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate.

The Southwest Arkansas project, located in Lafayette and Columbia counties is being developed in partnership with Equinor, with ownership shared at 55% by Standard Lithium and 45% by Equinor.

The project’s facilities are planned to be located on a 118-acre property in rural Lafayette County, approximately 7 miles south of Lewisville, Ark. The brine unit that will source lithium-bearing brine for the project facilities spans lands in Lafayette and Columbia Counties.

The effort is expected to create up to 300 construction and 100 direct jobs.

“The significant cost share from the U.S. Government demonstrates their continued support for investing in secure and sustainable supply chains of domestic lithium production. This decision by the Department of Energy validates the caliber of the project we are building through our de-risked approach to project development, strong partnerships, methodical testing, and purpose-built processes tailored to meet the specific demands of large-scale lithium production in the Smackover Formation,” said Standard Lithium’s CEO David Park. “Moreover, it reflects the incredibly talented and dedicated team we have built to execute this vision, and most importantly the relationships we have built in our community and across the state to ensure this is a win for Arkansas.”

“The U.S. Department of Energy’s support for the Southwest Arkansas project demonstrates how important lithium is to America’s energy transition. This award underscores the commercial readiness of our projects and the strength of our partnership. We look forward to working with the U.S. Department of Energy and alongside local communities in southwest Arkansas to develop this critical mineral and build the next generation of lithium production,” said Allison Thurmond, vice president of US Lithium at Equinor.