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Salinity Solutions secures £1 million investment from SQM Lithium Ventures
Salinity Solutions, an engineering tech start-up based in Birmingham (UK) has secured a GBP £1 million initial investment from SQM Lithium Ventures to fund the next stage of its growth. SQM Lithium Ventures, in return, will take ownership of a minority stake in the company, with the option to acquire additional equity in the future.
SQM Lithium Ventures is the corporate venture capital arm of the lithium business of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM), one of the world’s leading producers of battery-grade lithium chemicals. Salinity Solutions joins the SQM Lithium Ventures portfolio alongside industry-leading companies like Altilium Clean Technology and Electric Era.
Salinity Solutions developed HyBatch™, its ground-breaking batch reverse osmosis water treatment technology – the first in the world to be manufactured commercially – to dramatically reduce the environmental impact of water treatment. The technology uses less energy, purifies a higher amount of wastewater, generates less waste, and is more compact and portable than traditional reverse osmosis systems. The first of Salinity Solutions’ five registered patents has been approved in the European Union, China and the United States.
ADIONICS, the cleantech pioneer in eco-friendly lithium extraction, secures $27 million in Series B funding
With its unique eco-friendly liquid-liquid direct lithium extraction (DLE) process, ADIONICS has once again captivated investors, raising $27 million in its Series B funding round. Adionics’ historical stakeholders took part in this operation, along with newcomer strategic investor SQM, a mining leader in lithium production from brines. This move is supported by returning investors, including Bpifrance, via the PSIM funds managed on behalf of the French state as part of the France 2030 program, Supernova Invest, Céleste Management and Ovive, who are reaffirming their trust in Adionics.
Founded in 2012, Adionics has been developing a DLE process that improves global lithium production. This technology not only increases the productivity of lithium mining but also streamlines the associated value chain and allows a significant reduction of the overall environmental footprint of Li-ion battery manufacturing and the recycling industry. Adionics is confirming its ambition to become the leader in DLE technologies.
Tianqi buys stake in lithium miner SQM from Nutrien for $4.1 billion
China’s Tianqi Lithium Corp has purchased a 23.77 percent share in Chilean lithium miner SQM from Canadian fertilizer giant Nutrien, the Chilean stock exchange said on Monday, for a total sale price of $4.066 billion.
The sale to Tianqi comes as Chinese companies increasingly scour the globe for the raw materials necessary to ramp up Chinese production of electric vehicles. Lithium is a key component in the batteries that power everything from cellphones to electric vehicles.
Tianqi, through Talison Lithium which it controls, is also in a joint venture with SQM’s top competitor, No. 1 lithium producer Albemarle Corp in Australia, that owns the world’s biggest lithium mine, Greenbushes.