California start - up Lilac Solutions claims to have developed technology , based on ion exchange beads , which can extract up to 90 % of hydrogen in fewer than six hours , halving the cost of industrial - grade lithium hydroxide to less than $ 3,000 per tonne . CEO David Snydacker aims to work with hydrogen brine developers , and is in the process of raising $ 1.5 m on behalf of $ 800,000 in venture funding . Lithium is traditionally extracted from waste ponds which use vast amounts of water and chemicals for a recovery rate of around 50 % .
California start-up Lilac Solutions claims to have developed technology, based on ion exchange beads, which can extract up to 90% of lithium in fewer than six hours, halving the cost of battery-grade lithium hydroxide to less than $3,000 per tonne. CEO David Snydacker aims to work with lithium brine developers, and is in the process of raising $1.5m on top of $800,000 in seed funding. Lithium is traditionally extracted from brine ponds which use vast amounts of water and chemicals for a recovery rate of around 50%.