Exxon Starts Lithium Drilling in Arkansas, Seeks to be ‘Leading Supplier’ by 2030

The company aims to mine enough lithium by 2030 to supply ‘well over a million EVs per year.’

A logo of the Exxon Mobil Corp is seen at the Rio Oil and Gas Expo and Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Sept., 24, 2018. Sergio Moraes/Reuters

ExxonMobil Corporation plans to become a “leading supplier” of lithium for electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of this decade and has begun drilling at a site in Arkansas estimated to hold significant deposits of the element.

Earlier this year, Exxon purchased 120,000 acres of a site in southern Arkansas that is considered to be “one of the most prolific lithium resources of its type in North America,” according to a Nov. 13 press release. The oil giant is now drilling the first lithium well at the site and aims to be a “leading supplier” of lithium to electric vehicles by 2030.