Scoop: Lilac raising $350M for Utah lithium plant

Scoop: Lilac raising $350M for Utah lithium plant

Lithium extraction startup Lilac Solutions is raising over $350 million in project financing and equity to develop its first commercial lithium plant at the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Axios Pro has learned.

The big picture: There's growing interest in domestic critical minerals, and Lilac's Utah plant would be the first of its kind in the U.S.

How it works: Direct lithium extraction (DLE) is a group of technologies that extracts lithium from brines or water. The goal is to develop a faster, more compact and more sustainable way to produce lithium compared to the traditional method of using evaporative lithium ponds.

  • There's only a handful of DLE projects around the world, but the tech could revolutionize lithium production if it proves scalable.

    • Follow the money: The equity financing includes a planned $46 million Series D round, of which $34 million has closed. The entire round is intended to close next week.

  • The Oakland-based company declined to name the investors involved, but CEO Raef Sully says "there was good support from the insiders."
  • Lilac previously raised $315 million, including a $145 million Series C in 2024 led by Mercuria, Lowercarbon Capital, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

    • The intrigue: Scaling up tech from the lab to commercial use is notoriously difficult, and large plants require lots of capital.

  • Lilac is focused on reducing costs, which has been a problem for the DLE sector. "We've been able to drive down the operating costs for low-grade brines by about half," says founder David Snydacker.
  • Permitting for the Great Salt Lake project has taken 1.5 years, which has been a barrier to moving faster. "Permitting is an issue, and quite rightly so," says Sully.

    • What's next: Lilac needs to secure its final permits, finish its financing and start construction to move to the next level of commercialization.