Gradiant, a global solutions provider for advanced water and wastewater treatment and a spin-out from MIT, has spun-out alkaLi, a standalone company dedicated to accelerating the scaling of battery-grade lithium production. alkaLi is powered by EC2, an all-in-one solution engineered to Extract, Concentrate and Convert battery-grade lithium.

Gradiant says that EC2 features instantaneous production measured in seconds, not years; reduced costs with 50% lower OPEX and zero CAPEX costs; industry-leading sustainability with significantly reduced carbon and water footprints; and expedited permitting to meet the global lithium demand. The complete system is balanced, integrated, and adapts to a broad range of source inputs.

alkaLi’s EC2 is a highly modular, three-stage system adaptable to the broadest range of source inputs to date, including brine, evaporation, and recycling. The technology can be deployed in full or standalone stages, integrated with existing site infrastructure with an option to supercharge production with SmartOps AI.

• Extraction: Synthesized resins and novel membranes optimize lithium extraction. A second Li-lean stream is output, and each flows to CFRO units in the Concentration Stage.

• Concentration: Powered by Gradiant’s award-winning CFRO to maximize system efficiency, consuming an order of magnitude less energy than thermal processes. CFRO I receives the Li-rich stream and further concentrates to levels sufficient to convert to battery-grade lithium. CFRO II receives the Li-lean stream and reduces TDS to below regulatory limits, allowing expedited permitting

• Conversion: The concentrated lithium is precipitated into a solid to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) or lithium hydroxide (LiOH).

EC2 has been bench-tested and field-tested, and successfully completed a commercial proving system with SLB in 2023.

alkaLi is onboarding new customer partners now.