GM invests $50M in EnergyX for lithium extraction.
General Motors will lead a $50 million funding round for EnergyX, a Texas-based startup developing a more efficient method to extract and process lithium from salt flats. Lithium is a critical component in batteries for electric vehicles. EnergyX's technology can recover 90% or more of the lithium in brine while using much less energy, water and land than existing processes. GM will also help develop EnergyX's technology and will have first right of refusal to buy lithium from any projects developed by the startup.