Equinor, Standard Lithium finalize US DOE grant for Arkansas lithium project
Equinor Energy and Standard Lithium, the company’s operating partner in the South West Arkansas (SWA) lithium project, have been granted $225 million from the US Department of Energy (DOE).
The recently finalized grant, from the DOE’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, will support construction of a processing plant for the SWA project, which is expected to use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to extract lithium from saltwater from deep underground reservoirs for use in battery production.
Equinor entered the project in May 2024, acquiring a 45% stake in two lithium companies in Southwest Arkansas and East Texas from Standard Lithium (OGJ Online, May 8, 2024).
SWA project infrastructure will be sited in Lafayette County, about 7 miles south of Lewisville, Ark., and the brine unit that will source lithium-bearing brine spans Lafayette and Columbia counties. Located within the Smackover formation, Standard Lithium has said the project contains high-grade lithium brine resources, with a maximum concentration of 597 mg/L and an average of 437 mg/L.
The project’s design is being updated from its original preliminary feasibility study. The companies are now targeting a larger total output of 45,000 tonnes/year of lithium carbonate, to be developed in two phases of 22,500 tonnes each. A definitive feasibility study and front-end engineering design (FEED) study are under way to mature the project towards a final investment decision (FID), Equinor said.
The partnership is targeting FID by end-2025 with Phase 1 production beginning as soon as 2028, Standard Lithium said in a separate release.
As part of receiving the grant, the SWA project is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act and will require completion of an Environmental Assessment, which is expected to be complete this year, prior to reaching FID, Standard Lithium said.
