Exxon Mobil explores Lithium for electric car batteries

Exxon Mobil said on Monday that it is prospecting for lithium in southern Arkansas. By 2027, the petroleum giant is anticipated to start producing the essential component for electric cars.

The Smackover formation in southern Arkansas is believed to possess one of North America's most abundant lithium resources. Exxon purchased the rights to 120000 gross acres (48562 gross hectares) of this formation in early 2023.

According to Exxon, the company wants to generate enough lithium by 2030 to meet the demand for more than a million electric vehicles.

“Lithium is essential to the energy transition, and ExxonMobil has a leading role to play in paving the way for electrification,” Dan Ammann, president of ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions, said in a news release.

Exxon has not disclosed the amount of money it is investing in the project, which is anticipated to benefit an area of Arkansas with a long history of producing oil and gas.

“I’m not being dramatic when I say this has the potential to transform our state,” Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a news conference with Exxon and local officials about the project.

Judge Doug Fields of Columbia County stated that the county has already been collaborating with Exxon to make sure the well's roadways are ready.

“Just seeing some of this come in like it is, it’s going to be a big pick me up for the area,” Fields said.

The news coincides with an increase in the manufacture of electric vehicles, which increases the U.S. need for lithium to satisfy its clean energy targets.

Exxon announced that it will extract lithium-rich saltwater from reservoirs located approximately 10,000 feet (3.05 kilometres) below the surface using standard oil and gas drilling techniques. After that, lithium will be extracted from the saltwater on-site using "direct lithium extraction" technology, turning the saltwater into material suitable for batteries.

The subterranean reservoirs will be replenished with the leftover seawater. According to Exxon Mobil, their extraction method uses a lot less land and emits less carbon dioxide than hard rock mining.