LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners, formerly known as Volt Lithium, is a Canadian mineral development and technology company focused on extracting lithium from oilfield wastewater using proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology. The company operates primarily in the Permian Basin in Texas, using existing oil and gas infrastructure to produce lithium for North American industrial and battery supply chains.
What convinced you that lithium extraction from existing oilfield infrastructure was going to become a serious strategic opportunity?
The lithium industry was dominated by people with mining backgrounds. What was being overlooked was that the largest source of lithium in North America now comes from the Permian Basin in Texas. The lithium is in the water, and alongside oil production, there’s water production. For every barrel of oil produced in Texas, there are three barrels of water, and that water contains lithium.
About 22 million barrels of water are produced and disposed of every day. There’s already a massive infrastructure network moving that water. Before disposal, we run it through our system, extract the lithium, and return it. Eventually, we’ll look at other metals as well. From my background in oil and gas, understanding water movement made this a natural fit.
Given the scale of the opportunity, why has this approach to lithium extraction taken so long to gain traction?
I ask myself that question every day. We’ve been doing this for about six years between LibertyStream and the predecessor company. The first thing we had to do was develop the technology ourselves, specifically for oilfield brines. The concentration levels in the Permian are only 25 to 30 parts per million, and people thought that was impossible. The assumption was that the concentration was too low, so it couldn’t be done. I didn’t see any barrier.
We developed a technology capable of extracting lithium from low-concentration oilfield brines, and we’ve been operating in the field for almost two years now. I don’t know any other group that’s operated at field scale like this. The advantage is that we have access to a massive source of water every day, which allows us to accelerate and refine the system far faster than a traditional startup developing a new reservoir or mine.
The company underwent a rebrand last year. What does ‘LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners’ capture that ‘Volt Lithium’ didn’t?
LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners reflects what we’re actually doing. There’s already a massive infrastructure network in Texas with hundreds of billions invested to move water, and we’re tying into infrastructure that already exists rather than building our own. Partnering is fundamental to the strategy.
Our announced partner, Select Water Solutions, moves about two and a half million barrels of water a day. That gives us access to roughly 25,000 tonnes per annum of lithium opportunity. Across the basin, around 22 million barrels move every day, which translates to roughly 220,000 tonnes annually. To put that in perspective, the largest lithium company in the world produces about 65,000 tonnes. Access to brine, infrastructure, and established operators is the core of the model. And there’s a patriotic element too — “Liberty” and “stream” fit what we’re doing better than Volt Lithium.
As the model scales, are there other geographies that stand out as natural fits?
We haven’t forgotten about Canada. If we can get through the permitting process, we’d like to return. Internationally, the Middle East or Saudi Arabia would be a natural fit because they also produce massive amounts of water containing lithium. But right now, the focus is on North American production and the purity of supply.
The drilling inventory in the Permian is over 40 years, which means there’s effectively a 40-year inventory of water production as well. That creates a highly stable supply source. Longer term, we also see an opportunity around beneficial water reuse. Water scarcity is a major issue across the Southwest U.S., and while turning produced water into industrial or agricultural water isn’t economic today, critical mineral extraction could help make the economics work. There’s a near-term strategy around critical minerals and a longer-term strategy around water solutions.
What does the roadmap to commercial scale look like over the next few years?
By the end of this year, we want to reach an annualized production rate of 1,000 tonnes per annum. We’re already working with multiple potential offtake customers and want to demonstrate commercial execution as we move into 2027. By the end of 2027 or into 2028, we want to be between 3,000 and 4,000 tonnes annually, and by 2029 between 9,000 and 10,000 tonnes.
At today’s lithium price, 10,000 tonnes represents roughly $250 million in revenue, with margins in the 70% range. We’re going to scale 1,000 tonnes at a time. Each site will produce around 1,000 tonnes annually, and because the water chemistry across the basin is highly consistent, we understand the pathway to replication. Instead of one massive plant, we’ll have multiple operating sites across the basin, which also provides operational redundancy.
Why did this project ultimately advance in Texas instead of Canada?
I’m a proud Canadian, and I wish we could have done this in Canada, but there were too many regulatory barriers. Alberta and Saskatchewan produce massive amounts of water associated with oil production, but the process to get operating takes much longer. The attitude was often, “Show me where you’ve done this before,” and then maybe systems would be put in place.
In Texas, the attitude was: “You say you can do this — let’s get started.” They’re not afraid to be first. I’ve always believed we needed to be in production by the end of 2026 or 2027 because there’s a race for lithium production outside China. China filled the gap during the lithium shortage, which depressed prices through excess inventory, but the long-term drivers remain AI, data centers and electric vehicles. Companies like BYD are growing extraordinarily quickly and pulling lithium into China. There’s a supply vacuum elsewhere, and filling that vacuum over the next two years is critical.
Is the political and industry conversation around critical minerals and energy independence genuinely shifting in 2026?
This is no longer theoretical. We’re talking directly with battery and data-storage customers whose own customers are asking about carbon footprint, land impact and water usage. That’s where our advantage is significant. Our site processes about 120,000 barrels a day on three acres. Compare that to salar ponds covering hundreds of acres.
Roughly 40% of traditional lithium costs come from lifting brine to surface and transporting it. We don’t bear those costs because the infrastructure already exists.
People often ask how the oil industry participates in the energy transition — we’re a live example of that transition.
Customers still want proof, though. We now have a refining unit on site, a 10-ton run-rate prototype plant, and we’re already supplying samples to customers. We’ve pre-sold our first tonne, and customers are validating the material through their own systems before larger commitments. We’re beyond the “talk” phase now.
What reservations do potential customers or investors still have as they evaluate the model?
The biggest hurdle initially was disbelief. People simply didn’t think it was possible because they’d been told for years that low-concentration extraction couldn’t work. We’re breaking through that quickly now because we’re supplying actual product samples to customers.
The second issue is environmental footprint. In South America, salar pond extraction can take 18 to 24 months because it relies on evaporation. Our process takes less than 20 minutes. In places like Chile and Argentina, water tables are dropping significantly in some regions, which isn’t sustainable. Our process has no impact on the water table because we’re tied to existing production systems. If this industry is going to be part of the transition, it has to be sustainable, and that means leveraging infrastructure that already exists rather than creating entirely new extraction systems.
Are there trade-offs to scaling through existing infrastructure rather than building from scratch?
The perceived drawback is that we’re not operating from a single centralized source. Instead of one plant producing 40,000 tonnes annually, we’ll have multiple sites across the basin. I’d argue that’s more of a perceived issue than a real one.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for critical mineral extraction from produced water because the infrastructure already exists and the water is already moving. We currently have access to 22 million barrels a day. Once infrastructure access is tied up, there won’t be room for many competitors. To maintain our lead, we have to consistently produce high-quality lithium carbonate and meet the highest standards possible. I see a 40-year pathway for this industry here, and with that comes a responsibility around quality, environmental footprint and customer delivery.
