Pure Lithium, a vertically integrated lithium-metal battery technology company, acquired all the assets of Dimien Inc., a private US vanadium cathode materials company. Pure Lithium acquired Dimien’s intellectual property, know-how, manufacturing equipment and took on its experienced team, accelerating the development of Pure Lithium’s lithium metal vanadium (LVO) battery.

Dimien developed a class of vanadium-based cathode material known as zeta vanadium oxide (ZVO).

Dimien’s high energy density vanadium cathode is made from materials that are produced in North America and does not use minerals such as nickel, cobalt and graphite, which are sourced from less favorable jurisdictions, and are at risk of short supply in the future.

Dr. Brian Schultz, Founder and CEO of Dimien, will join Pure Lithium in the role of Vice President of Business Development and Technology. Additional Dimien team members will also join the company.

This asset purchase will expedite the commercialization of our LVO battery. Dr. Schultz and his team have worked diligently for years to develop a vanadium cathode. They have taken ZVO from a university science project to commercially relevant prototypes, which cycle beautifully against our lithium metal. I have known Dr. Schultz for several years, and he is a fantastic, meticulous scientist and I am thrilled to have him join the Pure Lithium team.

We have a lithium metal electrode production technology that dramatically reduces costs, and together with our LVO battery technology, we will bring to market a next-generation battery that is superior to lithium-ion in performance and safety. Eliminating graphite, nickel and cobalt is disruptive for the industry, and will ensure US supply chain security ending dependence on China.

It is well known by battery manufacturing incumbents that vanadium is not technically viable for use in lithium-ion batteries, which utilize a graphite anode and a lithiated transition metal oxide cathode. Ironically however, the same reasons that vanadium is not viable for lithium-ion technology make it the perfect pairing for Pure Lithium’s next-generation lithium metal batteries, presenting a unprecedented commercial opportunity for Pure Lithium.

—Pure Lithium Founder and CEO Emilie Bodoin