Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

Poseidon Minerals is a Texas-based company founded in 2022 by a diverse team of individuals with backgrounds in the oil and gas industry. Poseidon Minerals’ mission is to provide a sustainable and clean energy source for the future.

The company's objective is to use direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology to extract battery-grade Lithium Carbonate from wastewater that is a byproduct of oil and gas production. The Permian Basin, which produces approximately 30 million barrels of water per day, has the potential to yield enough Lithium to power 5 million electric vehicles annually if every barrel of water is treated for extraction. 
Lithium is currently sourced primarily from three regions: the Lithium Triangle in South America, Australia, and China, which account for over 96% of the world's supply. In addition, most batteries are manufactured in China. However, with the increasing global demand for Lithium batteries, the current supply chain is both logistically complex and environmentally unfriendly, particularly considering the emergence of electric vehicle and battery manufacturers in the United States. Sourcing Lithium locally can have important economic and environmental benefits.  The United States can reduce its dependence on foreign suppliers and create a local-skilled-energy-transition workforce. Additionally, local sourcing can reduce the environmental impact of transportation and processing, as conventional Lithium mining and processing is energy-intensive and produces high intensity greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, Poseidon Minerals' use of DLE technology requires significantly less amount of fresh water for Lithium production compared to conventional methods.  Local sourcing can also help to ensure responsible mining practices, as the United States is able to implement and enforce environmental and labor regulations more effectively within its own borders.

Oil and gas operators produce three types of fluids: oil, gas, and water. They extract and sell the hydrocarbons, but typically pay third-party companies to dispose of the water. In the Permian Basin, there are thousands of wastewater disposal sites of interest that could be converted to the Lithium extraction locations. Currently, there are no commercially viable Lithium extraction operations in the Permian Basin that utilize oil and gas wastewater.   One of the reasons is due to the novelty of DLE technology and also because of the low lithium concentration in the wastewater.  However, Poseidon Minerals has identified a process that could make such extraction technically and economically possible . Before it can be implemented, this process must undergo rigorous testing in a laboratory setting.

Poseidon Minerals is currently working with the University of Tulsa to advance the research efforts to ensure that the technical model can be fully scaled to real-world conditions.  We plan to utilize  preliminary findings to optimize and adapt DLE technology to the Permian operations chemical and physical constraints, which will eventually be scaled to a field  pilot. These findings will ultimately lead to a more effective and efficient extraction process.

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Replaces/avoids GHGs (e.g., projects that replace sources of GHGs, such as the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, transport, or other energy uses), Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

To begin with the team itself, we have two women, one with Pakistani heritage and the other from Kazakhstan. All three men on the team are from underrepresented communities as well, Hispanic, Pakistani, and Chinese. When the project is scaling, Poseidon Minerals would need to hire for good paying positions locally in West Texas where the rural communities are composed of over 40% Hispanic. This will also help start the transition of oil and gas jobs to renewables.

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Mission Statement:

Poseidon Minerals is committed to enabling the global transition to clean energy by sustainably and responsibly extracting critical minerals. Our goal is to meet the growing demand for these minerals while minimizing our environmental footprint and contributing to the well-being of local communities. Together, we can build a brighter, cleaner future for generations to come.

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