FORT WORTH, Texas, Sept. 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Element3®, the critical materials extraction company pioneering lithium recovery from oil and gas wastewater, today announced the close of its Series A funding round led by TO VC, with a co-lead syndicate including EIC Rose Rock and Cubit Capital.
The funding enables Element3 to deploy its first extraction plants on Double Eagle’s water infrastructure by the end of this year, positioning the company as the first new lithium extraction player to reach commercialization in the United States.
Element3’s breakthrough technology addresses a critical gap in America’s supply chain independence by extracting battery-grade lithium from the Permian Basin’s produced water – transforming what was once considered waste into a strategic national resource. With its lithium carbonate plant currently installed in the Permian Basin, Element3’s vertically integrated operation is poised to deliver lithium carbonate at a pivotal moment for U.S. energy security and the global energy transition.
“This funding accelerates our mission to build American lithium independence from the ground up,” said Hood Whitson, Founder and CEO of Element3. “We recognize the urgency required to secure the U.S. supply chain. While other U.S. projects are still in the planning stages and on a long time horizon, we’re bringing our plants online and preparing to ship commercial product this year. By extracting lithium from existing oilfield infrastructure, we’re creating the materials for tomorrow’s economy from today’s waste – this is allowing us to be faster, cleaner, and more capital-efficient than any alternative.”
The U.S. oil and gas industry generates more than one trillion gallons of wastewater annually, containing an estimated 250,000 tons of lithium carbonate—over half of the projected U.S. supply deficit by 2030. While many global projects face decade-long development cycles and multi-billion-dollar capital requirements, Element3 taps into existing oilfield infrastructure and available feedstock. This approach eliminates major bottlenecks, shortens time-to-market, and delivers a scalable, low-carbon domestic supply at a moment when U.S. demand for secure critical materials is surging.
“So much capital has been invested in the midstream and downstream steps of the Li-ion value chain to onshore battery manufacturing capacity, but very little has been done on the upstream to secure lithium raw material. This is partly because it takes billions of dollars and many years to bring the average lithium project online. At current prices, it simply doesn’t pencil out to build capacity from conventional resources. Element3 has been purpose-built – from its technology to its cap table – to convert oil & gas produced water – an unconventional resource – into an immediately available and abundant resource. What this means is that Element3 will be the first DLE company to get to commercial scale, and could become a top three domestic lithium producer within the next three years. We are so excited to be joining them on this journey,” commented Joshua Phitoussi, Managing Partner at TO VC.
About Element3
Element3 extracts lithium from oil and gas wastewater, building a new domestic supply chain for American reindustrialization. Founded in 2021 and based in Fort Worth, Texas, Element3 will ship first commercial tons by year-end. Learn more at www.element3.io.
About TO VC
TO VC backs visionary teams reshaping the foundations of the global economy. More: https://to.vc/
Contact:
Ben PattersonDirector of Business Operations817-221-8711