Latest ALTA Cohort Includes Companies Focused on DLE, Battery Materials
The Venture Center of Little Rock this week kicked off the third cohort of its Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA) with three companies focused on direct lithium extraction and battery materials production.The Venture Center introduced the group on Monday (April 6) in Fayetteville. The companies are:
Entegris POCO Materials of Billerica, Massachusetts, which is entering the battery materials market as a synthetic graphite supplier. It has a manufacturing operation in Russellville.
NewGenium of Pasadena, California, whose direct lithium extraction technology is aimed at producing lithium manganese iron phosphate (L(M)FP) from brine at lower cost.
Western CAM of South Portland, Oregon, which is focused on reshoring large-scale LFP cathode material production.
Year Two
The first two ALTA cohorts met last year, each taking part in a three-week program designed to connect the battery and energy startups with lithium producers, researchers, investors and economic development leaders. ALTA is part of a wider effort to move Arkansas beyond raw-resource extraction and into a fuller battery ecosystem.
“Welcoming our third ALTA cohort marks a significant milestone in our efforts to move from proof-of-concept to industrial-scale impact,” said Daniel Schutte, The Venture Center’s vice president of strategic partnerships and programs. “By integrating the specialized technologies of Western Cam, Entegris and NewGenium into our established network of industry and academic leaders, we are actively strengthening the domestic battery supply chain.”
Other ALTA partners include the University of Arkansas and Standard Lithium Ltd. of Vancouver, which is nearing a final investment decision on a $1.3 billion lithium extraction plant in Lafayette County.
“The ALTA program continues to drive innovation and investment in Arkansas, and this may be our strongest cohort yet,” said Jesse Edmondson, Standard Lithium’s director of government relations. “We’re bringing both anode and cathode companies to the state, along with a DLE startup that has developed a new method for producing LFP cathode precursor materials directly from brine.”
Edmondson said the mix of anode, cathode and DLE-related companies shows Arkansas is gaining ground in a battery sector increasingly tied to national security.
What’s Next
This year’s programming runs through April 24 in El Dorado, Magnolia, Little Rock and northwest Arkansas, with producer meetings, lab visits, investor roundtables and pilot-planning workshops along the way. The cohort ends with ALTA Demo Day at 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 24, at the El Dorado Conference Center.
More: Read coverage of the third cohort in Arkansas Business, the Magnolia Banner-News and Arkansas Money and Politics.
Previously: The new class follows ALTA’s inaugural cohort last summer — Telescope Innovations, RAM Geothermal and Nano One Materials — and its second cohort in December, which featured Lithios, Menen Group and Tyfast.
