Canada’s post-pandemic economy is like a cross-country horse race. Out front, galloping through the canyons of inflation, geopolitical instability, and supply chain problems are oil and gas, retail, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture and tourism, to name a few industries. Gaining momentum is energy cleantech.
Chris Doornbos, CEO and founder of Calgary’s E3 Lithium, is helping lead the charge in Canada’s nascent lithium sector. The geologist and his team are at the forefront of Canada’s uptick in lithium exploration, which could help secure future economies as the world moves to reduce CO2 emissions.
Lithium, or white gold, is found in minute quantities in the Earth’s crust. It’s essential in lithium-ion batteries, which are used in electric vehicles and mobile phones.
Using its direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, E3 is focused on liquid brines harvested from aquifers in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin – noted for vast oil and gas reserves. The company hopes for commercial production in 2026 from its inferred mineral resource of 23.4 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.
“In my mind, western Canada is going to be one of the biggest jurisdictions for lithium on the planet,” said Doornbos.
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