July 18, 2024 [crocon media – msc] Alex Wylie, CEO of Volt Lithium (TSXV: VLT, OTC: VLTLF), has navigated a unique career path from the corridors of investment banking to the helm of a company revolutionizing lithium extraction from oilfield brine. This ambitious venture aims to tap into a lucrative $6 billion opportunity over the next three to five years, positioning Volt Lithium as a key player in the green energy transition.
Wylie, whose entrepreneurial aspirations were influenced by his father’s ventures and his own financial acumen, articulated his vision and journey in a recent interview. “I always thought I’d like to be the CEO of an international company,” Wylie shared. “That’s why I got my CPA. You need to understand finance as an entrepreneur. You don’t want to get tricked by the balance sheet.” His story is deeply rooted in Alberta, Canada, renowned for its entrepreneurial spirit.
Drawing from his extensive experience at KPMG and his intrinsic drive, Wylie has orchestrated seven successful business exits: three as an employee and four as a founder. Reflecting on his career, particularly during the tumultuous post-Great Recession period in 2009, Wylie recalled, “I had a choice between sticking with a small business model or joining a much bigger startup, which turned into a multi-billion dollar company. I chose the former and sold multiple businesses.”
Wylie’s transition from Chief Financial Officer to Chief Executive Officer marked a significant shift in his career. “The transition from CFO to CEO was a major change,” he said. “It is a different experience when the buck actually stops with you.” Leveraging his background in investment banking, Wylie opted for a public market strategy over private equity, maintaining control and independence while spearheading the development of innovative lithium extraction technologies.
Volt Lithium’s strategic pivot from Allied Copper Corp to its current focus underscores Wylie’s commitment to transforming challenges into opportunities. Despite initial market skepticism, industry insiders recognized the potential of Volt Lithium’s processes. Wylie explained, “The market didn’t believe in our results, and our stock dropped. However, industry insiders saw the potential, and we went under NDA with several large oil and gas companies in the U.S.”
The core of Volt Lithium’s technology involves a two-step process: purifying brine water and extracting lithium. The company has successfully produced battery-grade lithium with a purity of 99.5%. Nonetheless, Wylie remains driven to enhance this process. “We’ve evolved so much. One of the things we do is fail a lot. We build a pilot plant, we fail all the time, and there’s nothing like failing to succeed. Each failure allows us to change a step and improve.”
Volt’s recent investment to deploy a field unit in the Delaware Basin in West Texas marks a pivotal moment in the company’s trajectory. Texas, with its vast brine water production and infrastructure, provides an ideal testing ground. “The group that invested in us last month, we’re going to the field with them in the summer and then scaling up,” Wylie noted. This initiative aims to convert brine water from a liability into a valuable resource, addressing both water and energy needs.
Wylie highlighted the environmental and economic advantages of this approach. “Ultimately, you get very clean water that can be used for irrigation, manufacturing, and the power industry. The manufacturing industry in Texas alone consumes 900 million gallons of water daily, and the power industry consumes 500 million gallons daily.”
By utilizing flared natural gas for power, Volt Lithium aligns its operations with sustainability goals while benefiting from low-cost energy. This strategic advantage positions the U.S. ahead of traditional lithium producers in regions like South America’s Lithium Triangle, where resources are scarcer and more expensive.
Volt Lithium’s efficient use of existing oil and gas infrastructure reduces capital expenditure, with an estimated $20 million required for phase one production plans. “Our upfront cost to go full-scale commercial is $20 million for phase one production plans. To scale up, you just build more,” Wylie explained. Current test results indicate that Volt can produce lithium from low-concentration brine at approximately $2,900 per ton.
As Volt Lithium progresses, the company anticipates significant deliverables in the near future. “It is a $6 billion cash flow opportunity within the next three to five years, and we’re a $20 million company. We’ve had to stay quiet for a long time, but now we’re starting to talk about our results from scaling up,” Wylie said. This optimism is reflected in the market, as Volt Lithium’s stock recently surged by 37% on the Canadian stock exchange.
Scaling-Up Production Capacity
Volt Lithium Corp. has successfully scaled its production capacity to an impressive 96,000 liters per day, equivalent to 600 barrels per day. This represents a remarkable 100-fold increase in processing capabilities. The strategic investment from a U.S. partner, finalized on May 2, 2024, has enabled Volt to scale operations at its Field Simulation Centre in Calgary, Alberta. This scale-up is in preparation for the deployment of the first field unit in the third quarter of 2024.
Strategic Position in the Permian Basin
The Permian Basin, producing 19 million barrels of lithium-infused brine daily, stands out as a critical area for Volt’s operations. According to Alex Wylie, President & CEO of Volt, the scaling-up of the Field Simulation Centre accelerates the company’s trajectory towards becoming a significant lithium producer in North America. The Permian Basin offers the necessary infrastructure, eliminating the need for extensive capital investment in drilling wells, building water management facilities, and creating pipeline networks.
Partnering with existing producers in the Permian Basin allows Volt to achieve cash flow and production growth more swiftly and cost-effectively than independent operations. This strategic approach mitigates exploration risks and facilitates an earlier commencement of commercial operations.
DLE Technology and Operational Milestones
Volt’s proprietary DLE technology has undergone extensive validation by ALS Canada Ltd, a leading independent testing organization. The technology has achieved 99% lithium extraction, with significant operational improvements, including:
- Volume Scale-Up: The system now processes over 4,000 liters per run, equating to 96,000 liters per day, a 100-fold increase in capacity.
- Extraction Time Reduction: The extraction time from oilfield brine has been halved to 60 minutes, enhancing throughput capacity.
- Continuous Processing: The Field Unit operates 24/7, ensuring continuous lithium extraction rather than batch processing.
Future Prospects and Commercial Operations
The field unit, set for deployment in Q3 2024, is a scaled prototype representing a 1:166 scale of future commercial production. Its modular design allows for scalable operations to process commercial levels of brine through additional modules and reduced extraction times. Based on historical modeling, the first full-scale commercial unit is expected to process 100,000 barrels per day, positioning Volt as a near-market, low-cost producer.
Volt’s phased approach to scaling operations, combined with extensive testing at the Field Simulation Centre and strategic investment partnerships, mitigates project risks and accelerates the timeline to full-scale commercialization. This strategy minimizes capital at risk while validating the proprietary DLE technology before large-scale deployment.
Volt Lithium Corp.’s advancements in DLE technology mark a pivotal moment in the company’s journey towards becoming a major player in North America’s lithium production landscape. By leveraging the vast resources of the Permian Basin and focusing on sustainable and efficient extraction methods, Volt is poised to meet the growing demand for high-quality lithium essential for the burgeoning battery market.
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