Lithium production facility coming to Pennsylvania
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Gradiant's lithium production facility in Montrose in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Photo: Courtesy of Gradiant
A lithium production facility is coming to Northeast Pennsylvania — one of the first in the state to extract the valuable metal from oil and gas wastewater.
Why it matters: The project, led by Boston-based water treatment company Gradiant, could give the state a new role in the clean energy supply chain by producing lithium and hopes to be the beginning of a $70 billion push to expand Pennsylvania's natural gas industry to power AI data centers.
Context: Lithium is a key component in making batteries for electric vehicles and other applications, and politicians are hoping to see domestic production increase to reduce reliance on Chinese-produced lithium.
How it works: Natural-gas drilling, or fracking, shoots water deep into the earth to extract gas. Lithium can be extracted from fracking wastewater, according to a 2024 study from the University of Pittsburgh.
Zoom in: Gradiant's lithium production facility will be in Susquehanna County near the New York border.
- Testing at the site is in progress and it's hitting benchmarks of recovering 97% lithium from produced water and 99.5% purity for battery-grade lithium carbonate, according to a press release.
- The company has signed a contract to provide 5,000 metric tonnes annually of battery-grade lithium carbonate to an American lithium-ion battery manufacturer for EVs and energy storage systems.
What they're saying: Anurag Bajpayee, CEO of Gradiant, told Axios that the large oil and gas fields in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale formation provide billions of gallons of wastewater to supply lithium for half the U.S. demand for EVs.
- "With the scale of produced water available, not just in Pennsylvania but across the United States, there's a clear opportunity to control the destiny of our clean energy transition and position America as a global leader in critical mineral production."
What's next: The facility is on track to start full commercial operations by early 2026, Gradiant said.