MIT start-up Lithios aims to boost US lithium production

The Lithios system uses an undisclosed electrode material that attaches to lithium when exposed to precise voltages. Co-founder and CEO Mo Alkhadra explains (Credit: Lithios)

14 November 2025 – MIT spin-off Lithios is developing an electrochemical process to extract lithium from underground brines in regions such as Arkansas and Texas. These formations may contain tens of millions of tons of lithium, but conventional methods are costly, energy intensive and polluting. Lithios employs custom electrodes that, under an applied voltage, selectively bind lithium ions from salty water while leaving most other salts behind. The electrodes are then discharged so that lithium is released as a purified product. A pilot system has already been running on real brines, and an industrial partner in Arkansas is testing a larger unit. In the long term, Lithios plans a facility capable of producing up to 25,000 tons of lithium carbonate per year, far above the current US output of under 5,000 tons.

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