A new accelerator program focused on Arkansas’ emerging lithium industry was held Thursday night (July 31) at The Record in Bentonville. Three companies pitched their solutions and products in the first accelerator cohort that started three weeks ago.
The Venture Center, in partnership with Standard Lithium, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the University of Arkansas, and funded by the Walton Family Foundation, among others, hosted the inaugural Demo Day for the Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator (ALTA). It is the first accelerator program dedicated to lithium innovation and the battery supply chain in the U.S.
The demo event marked the conclusion of a three-week, statewide program designed to position Arkansas as the national leader in next-generation lithium and energy technology. Three startup companies selected for the first ALTA cohort pitched their business solutions to an audience of industry leaders, economic developers, investors, and public officials. The three founding cohort companies pitched solutions spanning the lithium lifecycle from advanced critical mineral processing to sustainable battery material innovation. They included:
Telescope Innovations – Automating and optimizing lithium and critical mineral processing.
RAM Geothermal – Deploying geothermal solutions in Arkansas’ Smackover region.
Nano One – Innovative cathode production for lithium-ion batteries to support localization, cost, permitting, and security goals.
“The momentum we saw at Demo Day is a testament to the power of collaboration between industry, entrepreneurs, and our state,” said Arthur Orduña, Executive Director at The Venture Center. “These three companies are not just building businesses, they’re laying the foundation for a thriving lithium battery supply chain that will shape Arkansas’s economic future and help drive America’s energy independence.”
Lithium extraction and development holds promise for south Arkansas, where the longstanding brine industry is poised to be significantly involved in the burgeoning lithium industry.
Lithium is used in a variety of products, notably in pacemakers, drones and batteries for cell phones and electric vehicles – spaces where demand is not slowing down and worldwide supplies are limited.
New technology has experimented, successfully so far, in extracting lithium from bromine in a new manner. Instead of using evaporation to separate lithium from bromine, a chemical process has been developed to separate lithium molecules, which is at the center of hope for acceleration for Arkansas’ lithium industry in the Smackover Formation of south Arkansas.
“We continue to be blown away by the overwhelming support from the entire state of Arkansas for the nascent lithium industry. The Governor and [Commerce] Secretary [Hugh] McDonald’s vision to build an entire lithium ecosystem in the state will help ensure the economic benefits from lithium extraction in southern Arkansas are maximized and reach every corner of the state. The first ALTA cohort was top notch, and we look forward to continuing to support the excellent ALTA team and mission with future cohorts,” said David Park, CEO of Standard Lithium.
The ALTA program made stops in El Dorado, Magnolia, Little Rock, Fayetteville, and Bentonville, as well as other areas across South, Central, and Northwest Arkansas. Cohort companies engaged directly with major producers including Standard Lithium, Equinor, Chevron, Tetra, Albemarle, and Lanxess, in addition to key leaders from the state’s economic development and academic communities.