The Lonestar™ demonstration plant, using industrial-grade equipment, is operational and will be producing approximately 250 tpy of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).
Using EnergyX’s patented GET-Lit™ direct lithium extraction and refining technologies, this milestone represents the first direct lithium extraction facility operating in Texas processing local Smackover brine, and serves as a critical validation of EnergyX’s extraction efficiency, recovery rates, and cost profile.
“Bringing the biggest integrated DLE lithium demonstration plant online in the United States is a foundational milestone for EnergyX and for US domestic lithium production in general,” said Teague Egan, Founder & CEO of EnergyX. “This facility not only validates the performance of our technology on an industrial scale under real-world conditions, but also establishes EnergyX as the lowest cost producer in the US. Ultimately this benefits all our customers who need large volumes of lithium for EV and ESS applications, as well as any lithium resource owners looking to implement best-in-class DLE technology whom we are happy to license to."
The Project Lonestar™ lithium demonstration facility enables EnergyX to further optimise system design, validate process economics, and provide 5–25 t samples of battery grade lithium to customers for qualification. The facility is the last step before commercial expansion across the company’s growing US lithium footprint while advancing national goals around critical mineral security and supply chain resilience.
Currently, lithium refining is a choke point in the US due to China controlling roughly 70–75% of global lithium chemical conversion capacity and deliberately suppressing margins, making it uneconomic for most non-Chinese converters to operate or reach investment decisions. As a result, even when lithium resources are available in the US and allied countries, the lack of profitable, scaled domestic refining leaves the US structurally dependent on China for batterygrade lithium chemicals.
Senator Ted Cruz recognised the company and their achievement in a statement, “Congratulations to EnergyX and its CEO Teague Egan on opening the first-of-its-kind lithium processing facility right here in Texas.” He went on to say, “The lithium produced at Project Lonestar will help bolster US energy security and defence readiness by supplying the critical materials needed for batteries used in critical military technology”.
These dynamics underscore why Project Lonestar™ is both strategically and economically critical. By providing a scalable, cost-competitive domestic refining pathway, EnergyX directly addresses the US lithium refining bottleneck, unlocking stranded resources, enabling downstream qualification with battery and cathode customers, and laying the foundation for commercial-scale deployment. In doing so the project positions EnergyX to rebalance the global lithium supply chain, reduce US dependence on foreign-controlled conversion capacity, and accelerate the buildout of a secure, resilient domestic battery materials ecosystem.