0
0
ExxonMobil is making fast progress on the landmark lithium plan that announced just three months ago. And have created a new $100,000 endowment to support the communities in southwest Arkansas where they’re working.
Those were among the messages Patrick Howarth delivered to the standing-room-only crowd at the state’s first Lithium Innovation Summit in downtown Little Rock.
“We have an opportunity to establish a new foundational industry here in Arkansas,” said Patrick, who is the Lithium Global Business Manager for our Low Carbon Solutions business, which announced in November its plans to become a leading producer of lithium for electric vehicle batteries – by extracting it from brine deep underground southwest Arkansas.
ExxonMobil has already built a leading acreage position in the state, drilled numerous appraisal wells, conducted extensive engineering and design work, and engaged with the global customer base and local communities.
“And I’m proud to say we’ve produced battery-grade lithium from a pilot in Houston,” Patrick said. “We’ve been busy!”
New charitable fund to benefit two counties
Patrick also announced the new $100,000 endowment, to be awarded to nonprofits to support education, public safety, and quality-of-life initiatives in Lafayette and Columbia counties. Called the ExxonMobil Charitable Fund for Southwest Arkansas, it will be managed by the Arkansas Community Foundation.
“Our aim in any community we operate in is to be a partner,” Patrick said.
More than 600 business, community and political leaders, attended the event in Little Rock, including Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who said her administration is taking an “all-of-government approach” to supporting the growth of a lithium industry in the state.
The method ExxonMobil uses to produce lithium in Arkansas is expected to have much less environmental impact than how most lithium is produced today. It’s also very similar to the oil and gas drilling we’ve honed over decades.
Patrick emphasized that ExxonMobil’s technical expertise – plus the financial strength and global scale – makes us uniquely qualified to scale up lithium in Arkansas. First production is planned for 2027.
Source: ExxonMobil
