ESM will supply Ford with sustainable,
American-sourced lithium for use in future EVs
SAN
DIEGO, May 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- EnergySource
Minerals (ESM) announces a binding lithium supply contract with
Ford Motor Company. ESM is an emerging leader in the domestic
production of sustainably produced lithium, a critical component
used to manufacture cathodes in electric vehicle (EV)
batteries.
"We are delighted to announce this contract
with Ford Motor Company," said Eric
Spomer, CEO of EnergySource Minerals.
ESM will supply Ford with lithium hydroxide produced at ESM's
Project ATLiS™, located in Imperial Valley California. Project
ATLiS is expected to be operational in 2025. Using only a fraction
of the carbon, water and land footprint of any other operation in
the world, Project ATLiS aims to set a new standard in sustainable
lithium production. The project will maximize lithium output in a
closed-loop environment and aims to deliver significant reduction
in time, cost and environmental impact compared with alternative
approaches.
The operation will feature ESM's breakthrough ILiAD™ technology
platform, which separates lithium from an underlying geothermal
brine resource, in an efficient and sustainable way.
"We are delighted to announce this contract with Ford Motor
Company," said Eric Spomer, CEO of
EnergySource Minerals. "The domestic supply chain for EVs in
the United States is taking shape,
literally from the ground up. Ford is embracing a domestic,
sustainable standard for EV manufacturing, and we are proud to play
a part in building America's clean energy supply chain."
Added Lisa Drake, Ford's vice
president of EV Industrialization, Model e: "We are working with
promising companies such as ESM to help support our ability to
scale EV production and make EVs more accessible for customers over
time. The work we are doing with ESM is key to growing our access
to minerals such as lithium, which is essential to Ford's EV
growth."
Project ATLiS in California's
Salton Sea is expected to produce
approximately 20,000 metric tons of lithium annually, which will
quadruple the current U.S. supply of domestic lithium and is enough
material to build around 500,000 EVs for the auto industry per
year.
A key technology behind ESM's Project ATLiS is the patented
ILiAD platform. ILiAD will efficiently process lithium from
lithium-bearing brine resources, including the geothermal brine
resource in the Salton Sea Geothermal Resource Area. The innovation
will allow ATLiS to connect to an existing operational geothermal
power facility and remove the lithium from the brine, after it's
been used to generate geothermal power. The ILiAD technology will
dramatically reduce the water footprint of alternative approaches,
will not consume reagents, will demonstrate order-of-magnitude
longer operating life and achieve higher lithium recovery rates
than others to date.
Extensive additional pilot operations have demonstrated that
ILiAD can be widely used on lithium brine resources across the
world. ILiAD's application at Project ATLiS will highlight the
scaled commercial viability of this state-of-the-art
technology.
"With our flexible ILiAD platform we look forward to supplying
lithium to manufacturers like Ford. Moreover, by deploying our
ILiAD technology to brine resources across the world, we will
enable an additional supply of sustainably produced lithium more
broadly," added Spomer.
About EnergySource Minerals
EnergySource
Minerals is a privately held company leading the development of
Project ATLiS, a premier lithium project located in Imperial County, California, United States – as well as the ILiAD platform
technology, which is being developed and deployed into lithium
operations around the world.
EnergySource Minerals' team is comprised of leaders in
industrial project development, continuous adsorption and ion
exchange processes, and battery materials. A 30-year veteran of ion
exchange and adsorption technology, Dr. Charles Marston has led the ILiAD technology
project as Senior Development Officer. Dr. David Deak (ESM Chief Development Officer,
President of Marbex LLC, former CTO of Lithium Americas Corp,
ex-Tesla) and John Featherstone, CTO
of EnergySource Minerals, provide leadership support for ILiAD and
our own project development efforts.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F)
is a global company based in Dearborn,
Michigan, committed to helping build a better world, where
every person is free to move and pursue their dreams. The
company's Ford+ plan for growth and value creation combines
existing strengths, new capabilities and always-on relationships
with customers to enrich experiences for customers and deepen their
loyalty. Ford develops and delivers innovative, must-have
Ford trucks, sport utility vehicles, commercial vans and cars and
Lincoln luxury vehicles, along
with connected services. The company does that through three
customer-centered business segments: Ford Blue, engineering
iconic gas-powered and hybrid vehicles; Ford Model e, inventing
breakthrough EVs along with embedded software that defines
exceptional digital experiences for all customers; and Ford Pro,
helping commercial customers transform and expand their businesses
with vehicles and services tailored to their needs.
Additionally, Ford is pursuing mobility solutions through Ford
Next, and provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit
Company. Ford employs about 174,000 people worldwide. More
information about the company and its products and services is
available at corporate.ford.com.
Media Contact
Erinn Lynch
erinn@blazepr.com
(805) 570-0990
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SOURCE EnergySource Minerals