SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15: [+]GETTY IMAGESThe...

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 15: [+]GETTY IMAGESThe Biden administration’s hopes for establishing ample domestic sources and supply chains for one of the critical energy minerals required to power renewables and electric vehicles got a boost recently from a seemingly unlikely source: Houston-based ExxonMobilXOM -0.1%. The nation’s largest major oil company announced the commencement of a project that, if successful, will also make it a major supplier of domestically produced and processed lithium, a metal needed mainly as a key ingredient in lithium-ion batteries, but also for other applications relevant to the energy transition.The project involves drilling vertical wells into a deep underground saltwater resource called the Smackover in southern Arkansas. Once completed, the wells will bring the water to the surface where ExxonMobil will deploy a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to remove the metal from the brine. AZL is definitely on the right track , right along with the elephant in the room . What about carbon credits?