Hi Everyone, It's Emily.
On today's Weekly Recharge, Bill Gates's big
lithium investment.
(cue music)
Besides the Coronavirus it really hasn't been
a bad week on whole the hope for humanity front.
Jeff Bezos is launching a $10 billion dollar
'Earth Fund' to fight climate change,
Mike Bloomberg is trying to outright buy the presidency
which could be ok,
and Bill Gates's fund is leading a $20 million investment into Lilac Solutions, a lithium extraction startup.
First off, Congrats to Lilac.
Let's hope this sets an important precedent
for more investment in mineral extraction
as foundational for clean energy.
But - can Lilac live up to the hype?
Boston-based Lux Research agrees it's "interesting"
that the money is coming from VCs, rather
than the kinds of strategic industry players
who could bring meaningful pilot projects
to the table - and I say meaningful in terms
of size.
Size matters because to get lithium qualified
into the battery supply chain, you have to
produce enough volume for buyers to invest
significant time and money in the ability
to buy your product in the first place.
It's not like gold or copper or other commodities
that are interchangeable from the buyer's
standpoint.
Lilac's biggest claim is the ability to drastically
reduce the water intensity of lithium extraction.
If that claim "holds water" it would be the
lifeline SQM and Albemarle desperately need
in Chile's Atacama desert.
So if we don't see a deal with one of those
operators relatively soon, the obvious question
becomes why?
Want more?
Check out my website
I'm Emily Hersh, and this is the Weekly Recharge
