Edmondson: AI Data Centers, Energy Storage Will Power Domestic Demand for Lithium
Jesse Edmondson, government affairs director at Standard Lithium Ltd., speaking at The Venture Center in Little Rock for members of the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA).
Fast-growing demand from artificial intelligence data centers and energy storage could become a major new driver for domestic battery materials — if the U.S. moves quickly enough to build its own supply chain.
That was the key message from Jesse Edmondson, government affairs director at Standard Lithium Ltd., the Vancouver company partnering with Norwegian energy giant Equinor to build a $1.45 billion direct lithium extraction plant in Lafayette County.
Edmondson spoke last week at an April 13 luncheon at The Venture Center in Little Rock for members of the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA).
The event also included remarks from Arkansas Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald, Venture Center Executive Director Arthur Orduña and members of ALTA cohort.
During a brief presentation, Edmondson said that even though North American electric vehicle momentum has slowed, global battery demand is rising, thanks to the rapid growth of battery storage tied to AI data centers, where batteries are needed to buffer massive swings in electricity demand and keep operations running reliably.
“The global battery storage market is growing exponentially,” Edmondson said. “And this is largely due to AI data centers.”
That shift, he suggested, could open a major lane for Arkansas and the broader Smackover Formation region as developers race to secure domestic lithium and midstream battery materials.
Batteries & China
Edmondson also highlighted an article he co-wrote with Morgan Bazilian in National Interest titled, “America’s Data Center Boom Must Not Depend on Chinese Batteries.” The argument: If the U.S. is going to build out AI infrastructure at scale, it should not rely on a battery supply chain dominated by China.
Arkansas, he said, should think beyond extraction and focus on the “missing midstream” — cathodes, anodes and other processing capacity — that could keep more of the value chain in the U.S.
In his remarks, McDonald focused on Arkansas’ progress over the last three years in shepherding the lithium extraction and battery supply chain industries, pointing to incentives, workforce initiatives, regulatory work, partnerships and programs like ALTA that he said are helping create the conditions for success.
“Arthur tells me that there’s a pipeline of additional companies that are showing and expressing their interest in the [ALTA] cohort,” McDonald said. “And hopefully that means expressing their interest in Arkansas and investing their capital and hiring Arkansans and developing industry.”
What’s Next
ALTA, created by The Venture Center with Standard Lithium and the University of Arkansas, is designed to connect promising companies to Arkansas’ growing lithium ecosystem. The program’s latest cohort companies — Entegris POCO Materials, NewGenium and Western CAM — are scheduled to participate in a demo day today in El Dorado.
More: Read more coverage of the ALTA kickoff event from Talk Business & Politics and the Arkansas Times.
Plus: Read Edmondson and Bazilian’s article in National Interest.
