LibertyStream begins field-scale lithium carbonate production in Texas, validating its DLE technology and preparing for commercial expansion, customer qualification, and future offtake agreements.
LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. has announced a significant breakthrough with the start of lithium carbonate production from its automated continuous-flow refining unit, located at its field site in the Permian Basin, Texas. This achievement represents the company’s first successful on-site production of lithium carbonate derived directly from oilfield brine. It also demonstrates a fully integrated, end-to-end system that converts produced water into a market-ready lithium carbonate product right at the disposal well. By pairing the refining unit with LibertyStream’s proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology and leveraging existing oilfield infrastructure, the company has successfully established a scalable operational model. This blueprint is now ready for replication in major U.S. oil-producing regions, particularly the Permian and Bakken basins.
Alex Wylie, President and CEO of LibertyStream, highlighted the importance of this accomplishment, calling it a remarkable commercial milestone for the organization. He noted that the automated refining unit’s results in the Permian Basin have surpassed expectations, proving the effectiveness of the company’s system in transforming oilfield brine into high-purity lithium. According to Wylie, this advancement strengthens LibertyStream’s ability to responsibly scale its operations, supply essential lithium carbonate to domestic industrial users and defense contractors, and deliver long-term value to shareholders through modular replication and strategic commercial agreements.
Over the past 16 months, LibertyStream’s Texas operations have progressed steadily, powered by the commissioning of the company’s Generation 5 DLE system. This technology can handle up to 10,000 barrels of oilfield brine per day, producing a lithium chloride eluate. Since February 2025, more than 350,000 barrels of brine have been processed, along with over 2,500 real-time validation tests. These results underscore not only the reliability of the DLE system but also its readiness for commercial deployment.
The next major milestone for LibertyStream involved converting the lithium chloride eluate into lithium carbonate that meets the strict specifications required by industrial, EV, and defense-sector customers. To accomplish this, the company installed an automated continuous-flow refining unit at its Texas field site. This system is engineered to deliver stable, repeatable production and can produce up to 10 tonnes of technical-grade or battery-grade lithium carbonate annually. Its modular and scalable design ensures smooth integration with LibertyStream’s DLE platform and supports future expansion.
Looking ahead, LibertyStream’s immediate priority is to consistently produce lithium carbonate that meets customer specifications for long-term supply contracts. The company plans to prepare lithium carbonate batches for third-party laboratory testing, validate product consistency, and deliver bulk shipments with certificates of analysis to potential customers. Upon successful qualification, LibertyStream will pursue offtake agreements to enable large-scale production in 2026, with commercial supply targeted for 2027. In the meantime, aside from customer sampling, all lithium carbonate produced in 2026 will be sold on the spot market.
To support these initiatives, LibertyStream has strengthened its financial position, securing approximately $4 million in combined proceeds from recent grant funding and the exercise of share purchase warrants and options, including contributions from its largest institutional investor. These funds will be directed toward advancing the company’s commercial-scale plans in both Texas and North Dakota.
