GM Expands Further Into the Mining Industry with EnergyX Lithium Investment

General Motors Co will announce on Tuesday an investment in lithium technology startup EnergyX as it expands further into the mining industry, the latest deal by the auto giant to ensure long-term supplies of the metal used to make electric vehicle batteries.

The global push by automakers to electrify their fleets has sparked a rush for stable supplies of lithium, copper, nickel and other critical minerals. Demand is expected to exceed supply by the end of the decade, fueling interest in novel production methods.

Privately-held EnergyX is one of several companies developing so far unproven direct lithium extraction technologies (DLE) that could help GM filter the metal for its Ultium battery packs from some types of brine that have been largely ignored by the mining industry in favor of evaporation ponds and open-pit mines.

Read the source article at finance.yahoo.com