Standard Lithium Uses Arkansas Lithium in North American Battery Cells
Standard Lithium Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia, said Thursday that lithium carbonate from its South West Arkansas Project has been used to make lithium iron phosphate battery cells in North America.
Nano One Materials Corp. of Burnaby, British Columbia, used about 1 kilogram of the battery-quality material in its patented One-Pot process to produce cathode active material and coin cells for testing.
The cells delivered roughly 155 mAh/g on first discharge, meeting company targets.
Standard Lithium President and Chief Operating Officer Andy Robinson said the work “provides some exciting additional real-world validation” of the company’s process flowsheet, and pointed to a continuing gap between U.S. lithium production and downstream battery-material manufacturing capacity.
Nano One was a member of the first Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator, a program of The Venture Center of Little Rock. The company develops patented cathode materials that aim to streamline lithium-ion battery production while lowering costs and emissions.
By the Numbers
The test result came on the heels of Standard Lithium’s second-quarter 2026 earnings announcement, on Aug. 10.
The company posted $137.3 million in cash and no debt as of June 30.
It said its demonstration plant in El Dorado has processed 1 million barrels of Smackover brine and completed more than 15,000 direct lithium extraction cycles.
FID and Construction
Standard Lithium and its partner, Norwegian energy giant Equinor, operating as Smackover Lithium, said they have completed two of four milestones required before a Final Investment Decision at the South West Arkansas Project: construction contracts with S&B Engineers and Constructors and Wood Group USA, and a Finding of No Significant Impact from the U.S. Department of Energy’s environmental review.
Two deliverables remain: customer offtake agreements, which the company aims to finalize by the third quarter, and project financing.
Smackover Lithium continues to target FID and construction start later this year, with first commercial production of lithium carbonate expected in 2029.
More: Standard Lithium’s news releases on the Nano One project and its second-quarter financial results.
