Governor signs ACCESS Act at forum touting lithium, economic development

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Repeating the notion that she wants to be known as the education governor, Gov. Sarah Sanders signed her higher education overhaul bill into law at an economic forum in Little Rock Tuesday (March 18) before nearly 1,000 business leaders.

At a packed house crowd in the Wally Allen Ballroom at Little Rock’s Arkansas Economic Development Foundation (AEDF) luncheon, Sanders shared remarks that touched on education and jobs, before signing her higher education reform measure, the ACCESS Act, into law.

The AEDF is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization established in 1955 that raises funds to support economic development efforts in Arkansas, including research, site visits, and recruitment support. The foundation frequently helps pay for overseas business recruiting trips for the governor and staff of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

Governor signs ACCESS Act at forum touting lithium, economic development

State of the State 2025: Leaders highlight ways to meet growing energy needs

by Jeff Della Rosa (JDellaRosa@nwabj.com)

The energy sector has welcomed the emergence of the lithium industry in Arkansas while it grapples with rising electricity demand and declining generation as coal-fired plants are retired. Leaders look to a mix of solutions to meet demand, avoid an “energy crisis” and “restore American energy dominance.”

Lauren Waldrip, executive director of the Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA), highlighted one of the state’s most notable developments over the past year: the expansion of the lithium industry in southwest Arkansas.

“That is a new component of our membership,” Waldrip said. “We are seeing participation from folks like Exxon, Standard Lithium, as well as community and municipality organizations from that side of the state.”

State of the State 2025: Leaders highlight ways to meet growing energy needs

U.S. Department of Energy awards $225 million to lithium efforts in Southwest Arkansas

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Standard Lithium Ltd. and Equinor announced Friday (Sept. 20) that its jointly-owned U.S. subsidiary, SWA Lithium LLC has been selected for up to $225 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

This selection is one of the largest ever awarded to a U.S. critical minerals project and is part of the second wave of funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) aimed at expanding domestic manufacturing of all segments of the battery supply chain and increasing production of critical minerals in the U.S.

None of Arkansas’ Congressional delegation voted in favor of the IIJA. The provisional grant is dependent on completing successful final negotiations with the DOE.

The $225 million funding by the DOE will support the construction of the Central Processing Facility for Phase 1 of the Southwest Arkansas project, which is being designed to annually produce 22,500 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate.

U.S. Department of Energy awards $225 million to lithium efforts in Southwest Arkansas

Financing lithium a challenge, but Arkansas environment favorable

by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)

Financing major lithium projects in south Arkansas will be a challenge because of the uncertainties surrounding the ventures, but Arkansas has a history in the extraction industry and a supportive political environment. Meanwhile, the United States will be advancing in an industry where China is already an aggressive player.

Those were two of the takeaways from the second day (Feb. 16) of the inaugural Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit.

The summit brought to Little Rock nearly 700 energy sector executives, policymakers and stakeholders to discuss the growing lithium extraction industry in south Arkansas.

The excitement stems from Arkansas’ strategic position atop the Smackover Formation, a collection of saltwater brine 8,000 feet below the earth’s surface that stretches from Texas to the Florida panhandle.

Financing lithium a challenge, but Arkansas environment favorable

Arkansas lithium field to support ExxonMobil EV battery supply

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

ExxonMobil disclosed Monday (Nov. 13) that its 120,000-acre stake in the Smackover Formation of south Arkansas will stand up a lithium drilling operation to support supplies for electric vehicle batteries as soon as 2027.

The dollar amount of the investment was not released.

In early 2023, ExxonMobil acquired the rights to 120,000 gross acres of the Smackover Formation in southern Arkansas, considered one of the most prolific lithium resources of its type in North America. Southwest Arkansas has a history as an oil and natural gas producer.

After using conventional oil and gas drilling methods to access lithium-rich saltwater from reservoirs about 10,000 feet underground, ExxonMobil will utilize direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to separate lithium from the saltwater.

Arkansas lithium field to support ExxonMobil EV battery supply

U.S Rep. Bruce Westerman explains lithium development in south Arkansas

KUAR | By Ronak Patel

Earlier this year, Exxonmobil acquired the rights for a lithium brine reservoir in south Arkansas. Lithium is a key component that is used in electric vehicle batteries.

In an interview with Arkansas PBS’ Arkansas Week, U.S Rep. Bruce Westerman, R- Hot Springs, said the southern region of Arkansas potentially has enough lithium to produce about 15% of the world’s lithium. Westerman said the lithium in south Arkansas could grow the economy in that region.

“Now that lithium is a valuable commodity investors are anxious to be able to extract the lithium to meet even more demand. There’s talks the value of lithium could be more than the value of all the oil and gas produced in South Arkansas,” he said.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-08-20/u-s-rep-bruce-westerman-explains-lithium-development-in-south-arkansas

Arkansas PBS

In an interview with Arkansas PBS' Arkansas Week, U.S Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs, sees lithium as a boom to the local economy. The congressman also shared concerns about the region having the resources needed to accommodate the potential boom to the region.