Setting aside the valuation aspect, for me two key points emerge from this news:
- EnergyX, which is also present in the Salton Sea, is actively seeking to commercialize its DLE technology and is targeting brine projects. They may have previously considered Phoenix but did not move forward due to our valuation (Just a pure guess), and are now seems like focusing on undervalued projects.
- We are starting to see M&A in the sector after a period of inactivity. This suggests that the bottom for lithium prices in the corner. I think major players are likely to begin investing in projects before the sector experiences a turnaround. Best time for big players.
Apart from this scientist in Chile has sucessfully recovered magnasium from brine which is another upside. Additionally, many crypto mining companies are now focusing on zero carbon energy technology to generate energy that can be used for mining bitcoin and AI datacenters. As per recent estimate Generative AI requires 10 times more energy than Google search. The energy demand from data centers will be exponential high by 2030.
