Standard Lithium signage at offices on East Elm Street in downtown El Dorado. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate 02/28/2023)
State officials predicted Arkansas will be the nation’s next leader in lithium production at the inaugural Lithium Innovation Summit on Thursday at the Robinson Center in Little Rock.
State Commerce Secretary Hugh McDonald said Arkansas could provide as much as 15% of the world’s finished lithium once production ramps up. Companies like Standard Lithium, ExxonMobil, Albemarle and TETRA Technologies have made significant investments in the state and were sponsors of the summit.
“The sold out attendance at this summit is further evidence of the strong interest in lithium in the natural state,” McDonald concluded. “This is really our moment, as a step — change, improvement for the state of Arkansas and all Arkansans.”
About 700 energy sector executives, policymakers and key stakeholders attended Thursday’s sessions, according to a press release.
Arkansas’ role in lithium production is an outgrowth of its history as an oil-producing state. Standard Lithium and ExxonMobil have invested in processes to extract lithium from brine, a byproduct of oil drilling, in southern Arkansas.