Novalith, a Sydney, Australia-based climate technology company, raised $2.5M in Seed funding.
The CEFC, through the Clean Energy Innovation Fund, has made a $1.5 million investment in the seed round, which also drew support from the US-based venture capital investor, The Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust’s Neglected Climate Opportunities LLC.
The company intends to use the funds to finance the build-out and operation of a pilot plant in Sydney, as it moves toward the development of a commercial demonstration plant.
Led by Founder and CEO Steven Vassiloudis, Co-founder and CTO Dr Andrew Harris and Co-founder and CBO Christiaan Jordaan, Novalith is a climate technology company that uses carbon dioxide to simplify lithium chemicals production. The process for extracting lithium consumes carbon dioxide as a reagent, reducing emissions, eliminating the need for conventionally consumed chemicals and minimising waste footprints.
FinSMEs
25/10/2021
About Novalith
Novalith Technologies is a Sydney, Australia based climate technology company that uses carbon dioxide to simplify lithium chemicals production.
We are motivated by our belief that the future of lithium mining and refining will require the elimination of carbon-intensive energy sources, and ideally turn carbon waste into carbon value.
Novalith’s LiCALTM lithium extraction technology uses significantly less equipment, chemical reagents, water and energy than conventional processing, which reduces capital and production costs. The direct use and sequestration of CO2 in producing lithium chemicals also produces a much smaller emissions footprint than existing and alternative processes.
About the CEFC
The CEFC has a unique purpose – to lead investment in Australia’s transition to a low emissions economy. It invests to lead the market, operating with commercial rigour to address some of Australia’s toughest emissions challenges. This includes working with co-investors across renewable energy generation and energy storage, as well as agriculture, infrastructure, property, transport and waste. Through the Advancing Hydrogen Fund, it is supporting the growth of a clean, innovative, safe and competitive hydrogen industry. And as Australia’s largest dedicated cleantech investor, it continues to back cleantech entrepreneurs through the Clean Energy Innovation Fund. With $10 billion to invest on behalf of the Australian Government, the CEFC works to deliver a positive return for taxpayers across its portfolio.
About Neglected Climate Opportunities LLC
Neglected Climate Opportunities LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Foundation and the Grantham Trust’s environmental venture capital vehicle.
We invest to redesign our energy systems, to improve soil health, to spare the ocean from acidification, to directly recapture carbon from the atmosphere – and more. We believe that innovation and technology are the best hope for an enduring future.
The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment was established in 1997 by Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham.
| [1] Future Battery Industries CRC, Future Charge – Building Australia’s Battery Industries, June 2021. p3. https://fbicrc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Future-Charge-Report-Final.pdf |
| [2] Future Battery Industries CRC, Future Charge – Building Australia’s Battery Industries, June 2021. P4. https://fbicrc.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Future-Charge-Report-Final.pdf |
SOURCE Novalith Technologies Pty Ltd