Austin-based EnergyX has been on the trail with a Reg A fundraising campaign. These crowdfunding-style investment offerings are sometimes called mini IPOs.
Thus far, it's going well.
The company's fundraising site, which is offering shares at $9.50 each, shows it has raised $62 million so far, with a couple days left before its campaign ends.
But the money is just a piece of the picture for EnergyX.
The company, which is part of a broader wave of startups working on direct lithium extraction, said Oct. 1 it is about to open a 40,000-square-foot space in Austin to house its innovation lab, global operations controls, DLE production and warehouse at 2535 Ridgepoint Drive. EnergyX worked with STO Building Group and KDS Interiors on the new space.
A company spokesperson said EnergyX will keep its prior location at 1624 Headway Circle in Northeast Austin.
The new space is necessitated, in part, by employee growth. It recently surpassed 100, about 80% of which are based in the U.S. It plans to continue hiring.
"We are thrilled to be adding so many incredible scientists, engineers, and operators to the EnergyX team," CEO Teague Egan stated in an announcement. "While I tried to keep the headcount under 100 for as long as possible, each individual is a major contributor to our execution plans... As we transition from research to commercialization, the most exciting parts are ahead of us."
Starting last year, the company began to acquire property for extraction projects.
That includes the Black Giant plot in Chile, which the company estimates could produce 40,000 tons of lithium per year.
Meanwhile, closer to home, the company announced its Project Lonestar, another lithium mining project that is somewhere in the "Ark-La-Tex” region. That area is part of the Smackover formation where lithium is abundant over a broad stretch of land from Texas to Arkansas and Louisiana.
The company says its spots there could be ready for testing in early 2025. It could produce an estimated 25,000 tons per year.
That all followed a 2023 $50 million series B round from GM Ventures, the venture capital arm of General Motors Co.
