BMW i Ventures announced today a lead investment in Mangrove Lithium‘s Series A-1 fundraising round, a feedstock-flexible modular platform producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate to improve lithium’s sustainability profile. Breakthrough Energy Ventures has joined current investor BMW i Ventures.
The electrochemical technique used by the Mangove removes the requirement for a carbonate factory, lowering the operational costs and time required to convert material into lithium carbonate. This is critical for the future of electric cars, as sustainable and scalable lithium manufacturing is required to fulfill rising battery demand.
The modular system from Mangrove may be scaled to any capacity, at the point of extraction, production, or recycling, and co-located with upstream lithium producers or cathode and cell manufacturers.
Mangrove’s technology is the market’s lowest-energy solution, making it not only the most affordable, but also the greenest. Renewable energy sites could almost remove their carbon impact, as well as the majority of the toxic compounds used in lithium refining today.
In this approach, BMW is fundamentally upgrading the lithium manufacturing supply chain and unlocking fresh lithium supplies in a more environmentally responsible manner. The new investment will be used to further accelerate the launch of Mangrove’s first commercial plant.
Reference- BMW PR, Inside EVs, Clean Technica, PR Newswire