# EnergyX commissioned the first US direct lithium extraction plant in Texas; Rio Tinto and Eramet are running commercial DLE in Argentina
> Project Lonestar (250 tpa, Hooks TX) processes Smackover brine using EnergyX's GET-Lit technology; a Wildcat JV will co-locate a 15,000 tpa LFP cathode plant; DLE market is valued at $1.54 billion in 2026

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-03-26 · heads: 长远之局, 谁的钱 · 6 takes · 4 lenses · 4 regions

## Summary

EnergyX commissioned Project Lonestar on March 26, 2026, in Hooks, Texas, at the TexAmericas Center, making it the first commercial-operating [direct lithium extraction](/zh/entity/direct-lithium-extraction) (DLE) plant on US soil. The facility processes Smackover Formation brine using EnergyX's proprietary GET-Lit adsorption technology, recovering over 90% of available [Lithium](/zh/entity/lithium) per pass against 30-40% recovery rates in conventional Chilean solar evaporation operations. At $30 million for a 250-tonne-per-year demonstration unit, Lonestar is a proof-of-commercial-concept ahead of a Phase 1 scale-up to 12,500 tpa and a five-year target of 50,000 tpa. The Smackover Formation, a brine-bearing sedimentary layer stretching from Arkansas through Texas, is estimated to hold enough lithium for tens of millions of EV batteries annually. EnergyX and Wildcat Discovery Technologies announced a joint venture in April to co-locate a 15,000 tpa LFP cathode manufacturing facility using Lonestar feedstock, creating a vertically integrated FEOC-compliant battery-materials chain. Globally, Rio Tinto and Eramet are running commercial adsorption-based DLE in Argentina; [Albemarle](/zh/entity/albemarle) filed a $3.1 billion DLE environmental review in Chile targeting near-double brine recovery rates. The global DLE market is valued at $1.54 billion in 2026 and forecast at $5.72 billion by 2036.

## The split

DLE proponents, including EnergyX, cite the 90%+ recovery rate, minimal water consumption, and smaller land footprint versus evaporation ponds as transformative advantages, enabling brine sources previously uneconomic (including oilfield wastewater) to become lithium feedstock. Sceptics, including some Atacama-region producers, argue that adsorption-based DLE has not yet demonstrated reliability at scale for years-long operation, and that lithium recovery rates from low-concentration Smackover brines may fall short of demonstration yields. The LFP cathode JV with Wildcat reflects an industry logic: DLE lithium needs a nearby, captive market to justify small-scale plants before pipeline-scale commercial production is viable. [Albemarle](/zh/entity/albemarle)'s Chilean DLE filing, which claims to return 90% of processed brine to the Atacama salt flat, is framed partly as a social licence argument in Chile, where brine depletion is a political flashpoint.

## By the numbers

- 250 tpa, Project Lonestar's demonstration output at Hooks, Texas.
- $30 million, Project Lonestar capital cost.
- 12,500 tpa, EnergyX Phase 1 commercial-scale target.
- 50,000 tpa, five-year commercial target.
- 90%+, lithium recovery rate using GET-Lit adsorption vs. 30-40% in conventional evaporation.
- 15,000 tpa, planned LFP cathode facility in the EnergyX-Wildcat JV.
- $3.1 billion, Albemarle's Chile DLE environmental review capital estimate.
- $1.54 billion, DLE market value in 2026 (IDTechEx); $5.72 billion forecast by 2036.

## Why it matters

The shift from solar evaporation to DLE technology would fundamentally reshape the [Lithium](/zh/entity/lithium) supply map, unlocking oilfield brines in the US, Europe, and Asia as viable feedstock. US energy security policy under the IRA and the Trump minerals agenda both favour domestic lithium sources; a Smackover brine operation that delivers FEOC-compliant lithium at scale addresses the IRA's foreign entity of concern restrictions directly, where Chilean or Australian spodumene often does not. Chile's DLE adoption by [Albemarle](/zh/entity/albemarle) is equally significant: if DLE can double recovery rates in the Atacama without depleting the brine layer, it addresses the central political challenge in Chilean lithium governance and could delay the push for Codelco to accelerate the [SQM joint-venture](/zh/n/chile-sqm-codelco-jv) volume target.

## What to watch

- Project Lonestar's Phase 1 scale-up timeline and whether yields from Smackover brine match demonstration recoveries.
- Albemarle's Chilean DLE environmental review outcome, and whether Chile's COREMA approves the $3.1 billion project.
- Rio Tinto and Eramet Argentine DLE operational data as they move from first-commercial to sustained throughput.
- EnergyX-Wildcat LFP cathode JV: whether the facility qualifies under IRA Section 45X and secures US offtake agreements.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **EnergyX press release** (United States, en) — Primary commissioning announcement: EnergyX's Project Lonestar, a 250 tpa direct lithium extraction demonstration plant in Hooks, Texas, began operations March 26, 2026, processing locally sourced Smackover Formation brine using the company's proprietary GET-Lit adsorption technology. Capital cost: $30 million. Commercial Phase 1 targets 12,500 tpa; Phase 2 targets 50,000 tpa within five years.
  Source: https://energyx.com/press-release/american-made-lithium-project-lonestar/
- **IDTechEx** (United Kingdom, en) — 
  Source: https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-report/direct-lithium-extraction/1140
- **Global Mining Review** (Global, en) — 
  Source: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/2026/energyx-project-lonestar-dle/

### mining trade
- **Mining.com** (Canada, en) — Site-visit report on Project Lonestar in Hooks, Texas: the TexAmericas Center location provides rail and road access to Smackover brine aquifer processing; EnergyX CEO Teague Egan describes the facility as the first commercial-operating DLE plant on US soil, capable of recovering over 90% of lithium from brine versus 30-40% via conventional solar evaporation.
  > "Project Lonestar is the first commercial-operating direct lithium extraction plant on US soil, recovering over 90% of lithium from brine."
  Source: https://www.mining.com/site-visit-energyx-launches-first-us-direct-lithium-extraction-plant-in-texas/

### clean-energy advocacy
- **CleanTechnica** (United States, en) — Frames Project Lonestar in the context of US battery-supply-chain independence: notes EnergyX secured $50 million from oil and gas majors including Koch Industries; highlights that the Smackover Formation stretches from Arkansas to Texas and could hold sufficient lithium for 50+ million EV batteries per year at commercial-scale DLE.
  > "The Smackover Formation, now being tapped by DLE, could supply lithium for 50 million EV batteries a year at commercial scale."
  Source: https://cleantechnica.com/2026/03/26/here-comes-more-lithium-for-ev-batteries-made-in-the-usa/

### corporate announcement
- **PR Newswire** (United States, en) — EnergyX and Wildcat Discovery Technologies announced a joint venture to build a 15,000 tpa LFP cathode manufacturing facility in Texas, integrating DLE lithium feedstock from Project Lonestar into a vertically integrated battery-materials chain. The JV is designed to qualify as FEOC-compliant under IRA Section 45X.
  > "EnergyX and Wildcat will co-locate a 15,000 tpa LFP cathode plant alongside Project Lonestar, creating a vertically integrated American battery materials chain."
  Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wildcat-discovery-technologies-and-energyx-announce-joint-venture-for-15-000-ton-commercial-lfp-cathode-manufacturing-facility-in-texas-302791064.html

## Across the graph
- Related: [[lithium-market-2026-deficit]], [[albemarle-kings-mountain-2026]], [[bolivia-lithium-deals-frozen]]
- Entities: Direct Lithium Extraction, Lithium, Albemarle

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