Volt Lithium Corp., soon to rebrand as LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. pending shareholder approval, is preparing to commission its proprietary mobile Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) unit in North Dakota’s Bakken region. The unit, developed in partnership with Wellspring Hydro, is scheduled for field deployment and commissioning in late June 2025. The initiative is supported by $2.5 million in combined funding from the North Dakota Industrial Commission’s Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and Renewable Energy Program.
Mark Watson, president and CEO of Wellspring Hydro, emphasized the importance of the partnership. “Wellspring and the State of North Dakota are excited to commence field operations with Volt,” Watson said. “Volt is the only DLE company funded by the state so far, and its Calgary R&D facility has shown promising results.”
Volt’s upcoming name change reflects its evolving strategy to collaborate with oilfield infrastructure companies to extract lithium — a key critical mineral — from produced water generated by oil and gas operations. The company's proprietary technology can adapt to varying brine chemistries, allowing it to operate in both the Permian and Bakken basins, the two largest oil-producing regions in North America.
Volt estimates lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) production potential of up to 170,000 tonnes annually in the Permian and 50,000 tonnes in the Bakken. Notably, Bakken brine contains nearly three times the lithium concentration compared to Permian samples.
The company’s DLE system, which was scaled up to process over 10,000 barrels of brine per day in just six months after initial deployment, connects directly to saltwater disposal (SWD) facilities. This integration bypasses the need for expensive greenfield development and allows Volt to leverage existing oilfield infrastructure to reduce both capital and operational costs.
Volt is currently producing lithium chloride from its Permian operations and converting it into high-purity lithium carbonate to meet premium specifications. Sample distributions to potential offtake partners are underway.
The Bakken deployment will test the modular system's adaptability and scalability, showcasing its ability to process both high-volume, low-grade and higher-concentration brines. Stakeholders from the State of North Dakota, including state senators and department leaders, will attend the commissioning phase to evaluate the technology’s impact and scalability.
“Volt’s DLE platform is gaining momentum with partners across the energy industry,” said Alex Wylie, Volt president and CEO. “Deploying in the Bakken further proves our ability to operate across diverse oilfield environments, positioning us for growth in key U.S. basins.”
