First-of-its-kind lithium technology accelerator kicks off in Arkansas

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Arkansas’ infant lithium industry will now have an industry-specific business accelerator to bolster emerging technology firms.

The Venture Center, an Arkansas entrepreneurial support organization, launched its Arkansas Lithium Technology Accelerator at a kick-off in El Dorado on Monday evening. Described as the first of its kind in the United States by the center’s executive director, Arthur Orduña, the accelerator is part of broader efforts at all levels of government to incentivize the growth of a lithium and critical minerals industry in South Arkansas.

The accelerator isn’t focusing on traditional lithium producers, such as Standard Lithium or Albemarle. Instead, it aims to develop companies within the broader battery industry to try to grow the supply chain downstream of lithium production itself, and then bring those companies to Arkansas.

The accelerator’s first cohort includes three companies operating within the lithium and battery supply chain:

• Telescope Innovations — A Canada-based company that works on processing for critical minerals like lithium. It is a research and development partner with Standard Lithium, having done work on the company’s direct lithium extraction processes at its El Dorado demonstration plant, and recently worked with Standard on a process to produce lithium sulfide.
• RAM Geothermal — A geothermal technology company.
• Nano One — A Canada-based cathode company. It was awarded $12.9 million from the U.S. Department of Defense last year to expand its production and research facilities in Canada.

The Arkansas Legislature passed tax incentives during the 2025 session to lure lithium producers and businesses engaged in other parts of the battery supply chain to the state, and elected officials have touted Arkansas’ budding lithium industry and its potential economic effects on the South Arkansas region.

The accelerator hopes to make Arkansas the center of innovation for lithium technology. Participating companies take part in a three-week program, which will connect them to Arkansas’ prospective lithium producers such as Standard Lithium and “academic, government and economic development partners,” according to a news release from the Venture Center.

Clint O’Neal, the director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, said lithium production meshes with what the state hopes to attract as part of its economic development efforts.

“What we’re doing today fits right in the sweet spot of our mission statement,” O’Neal said, adding later that “we look at lithium as an opportunity for such significant growth that we’re confident that Arkansas can be a major player in this industry.”

Industry prospects

Standard Lithium has said it expects to make a final decision on whether it will go forward with its planned project in Lafayette County by the end of 2025.

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Standard is already drawing down on a $225 million award it received from the U.S. Department of Energy in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration for the construction of the first phase of the project, Director of Government Jesse Edmondson said during the kickoff. Those funds were awarded as part of broader efforts by the Biden administration to boost critical mineral production in the U.S. in the face of Chinese dominance in the supply chain.

But the accelerator’s start also comes on the heels of the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which eliminates the electric vehicle tax credits many Americans have used to transition from gas-powered to battery-powered vehicles.

Representatives of the companies in the cohort did not appear to be concerned that the roll back would affect industry prospects, however, despite these challenges.

Telescope’s Ryan Jansonius said that despite a “narrative” that EV adoption is happening slower in North America, more EVs were going to be sold in 2025 than in any previous year.

But potential growth in the EV market wasn’t the only reason the cohort was optimistic. Clean renewables such as solar and wind will require storage to make those reliable options compared to more polluting alternatives. Data centers for artificial intelligence will also need batteries, Nano One CEO Dan Blondal said.

Blondal said that the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act “is very focused on trying to drive” battery production to the U.S. and away from China, which currently dominates the battery industry, for use in the power-guzzling data centers that power AI.

While Blondal said it wouldn’t be immediate — “You don’t go from zero to starting to build a battery plant that can feed an auto plant,” he said — he anticipated that defense spending will kick-start the creation of battery supply chains in the U.S., and will eventually “lead to larger plants, more bankable projects, large projects with lots of construction jobs and ultimately lots of operational jobs.”

“The demand, or the projected demand, over the next ten years outstrips anything that’s being extracted right now,” Blondal said. “So from an Arkansas point of view, there will be outstripped demand for the next decade, at least. And I think that’s where there’s a tremendous amount of opportunity.”