Published: March 30, 2026 |

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Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) has successfully commissioning of a first-of-its-kind, U.S.-based lithium production facility at Project Lonestar™, marking a major milestone toward commercial-scale domestic lithium production.

The Lonestar™ demonstration plant, using industrial-grade equipment, is operational and will be producing approximately 250 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). Using EnergyX’s patented GET-Lit™ direct lithium extraction and refining technologies, this milestone represents the first direct lithium extraction facility operating in Texas processing local Smackover brine, and serves as a critical validation of EnergyX’s extraction efficiency, recovery rates, and cost profile.

“Bringing the biggest integrated DLE lithium demonstration plant online in the United States is a foundational milestone for EnergyX and for U.S. domestic lithium production in general,” said Teague Egan, founder and CEO of EnergyX.

“This facility not only validates the performance of our technology on an industrial scale under real-world conditions, but also establishes EnergyX as the lowest cost producer in the U.S. Ultimately this benefits all our customers who need large volumes of lithium for EV and ESS applications, as well as any lithium resource owners looking to implement best-in-class DLE technology whom we are happy to license to,” added Egan.

The Project Lonestar™ Lithium demonstration facility enables EnergyX to further optimize system design, validate process economics, and provide 5-25 ton samples of battery grade lithium to customers for qualification. The facility is the last step before commercial expansion across the company’s growing U.S. lithium footprint while advancing national goals around critical mineral security and supply chain resilience.

Currently, lithium refining is a choke point in the U.S. due to China controlling roughly 70 - 75 percent of global lithium chemical conversion capacity and deliberately suppressing margins, making it uneconomic for most non-Chinese converters to operate or reach investment decisions. As a result, even when lithium resources are available in the U.S. and allied countries, the lack of profitable, scaled domestic refining leaves the U.S. structurally dependent on China for battery-grade lithium chemicals.

“Congratulations to EnergyX and its CEO Teague Egan on opening the first-of-its-kind lithium processing facility right here in Texas. The lithium produced at Project Lonestar will help bolster U.S. energy security and defense readiness by supplying the critical materials needed for batteries used in critical military technology,” said Senator Ted Cruz.

These dynamics underscore why Project Lonestar™ is both strategically and economically critical. By providing a scalable, cost-competitive domestic refining pathway, EnergyX directly addresses the U.S. lithium refining bottleneck, unlocking stranded resources, enabling downstream qualification with battery and cathode customers, and laying the foundation for commercial-scale deployment. In doing so the project positions EnergyX to rebalance the global lithium supply chain, reduce U.S. dependence on foreign-controlled conversion capacity, and accelerate the buildout of a secure, resilient domestic battery materials ecosystem.

Source: Chemical Engineering

EnergyX is a lithium technology and development company focused on building next-generation extraction and refining solutions to support the global transition to electrification. The company is developing lithium production projects across the Americas using advanced direct lithium extraction technologies designed to increase recovery rates while reducing environmental impact.

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