Three picked for latest Venture Center lithium accelerator

Building on the success of its inaugural 2025 program, The Venture Center this week kicked off the second cohort of the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA) — the nation’s first accelerator dedicated to lithium and battery-supply-chain innovation.

Running Dec. 1-17, the accelerator connects hand-picked energy-technology startups with Arkansas-based lithium producers, alongside academic, government and economic development partners. The program’s goal is to further U.S. leadership in battery supply-chain solutions and accelerating commercial deployment of next-generation energy technologies.

The 2025 cohort companies include:

• Lithios – MIT-developed Advanced Lithium Extraction (ALE) uses clean, electric processing to extract lithium from U.S. brines at dramatically lower cost and scalable, sustainable volumes.
• Menen Group – Arkansas-based water treatment collective using patented technology to concentrate dilute lithium streams with 60% less energy, offering modular, zero-CAPEX solutions for low-cost battery-grade lithium carbonate.
• Tyfast Energy – Builds ultra-fast-charging, 10,000-cycle batteries using a patented LVO anode and U.S.-sourced materials, powering heavy-duty commercial and defense vehicles with a secure domestic supply chain.

“We’re excited to launch our second ALTA cohort with truly outstanding new technology companies,” said Arthur Orduña, executive director of The Venture Center. “Lithios, Menen Group, and Tyfast Energy provide innovative solutions at different and complementary points of a new lithium-ion battery supply chain for the U.S. and its partners, free of foreign dependence. They definitely meet the high bar set by the groundbreaking companies in our first ALTA cohort.”

ALTA is led by The Venture Center, with support from industry partners Standard Lithium and other producers; academic partners University of Arkansas, South Arkansas College, and Southern Arkansas University; and funding support from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and Walton Family Foundation.

“The ALTA program continues to attract some of the highest caliber startups in our industry,” said Jesse Edmondson, director of government relations for Standard Lithium. “The ultimate goal is to recruit and cultivate the top talent and technologies and as a result create additional value and opportunities for the state of Arkansas. Arkansas is on the verge of not only becoming a major lithium producer, but also a research and innovation hub for lithium, ranging all the way from geology to next-generation battery technologies.”

In addition to its industry and academic partners, ALTA is supported this year by a coalition of statewide business and community sponsors, including Exxon, Tetra Technologies, Corzan, Rose Law Firm, Ghidotti Communications, Blue Flame Minerals, the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce, and Terra Volta.

The program concludes with ALTA Demo Day at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at the Record Downtown in Bentonville.