Alex Wylie is the President and CEO of LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners (TSXV: LIB), a company building critical-minerals infrastructure directly inside the U.S. oil and gas system. LibertyStream’s model is centered on converting oilfield produced water into battery-grade lithium, using proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction and refining technology integrated into existing water-handling and pipeline networks.
Under Alex's leadership, LibertyStream has developed an end-to-end platform capable of extracting and refining lithium from low-concentration oilfield brines, enabling commercial production without the long timelines, permitting risk, or capital intensity of traditional lithium projects.
In this exclusive interview with The New Money, Alex Wylie explains why Direct Lithium Extraction is approaching a commercial inflection point, how LibertyStream is de-risking lithium production from brine to carbonate, and why U.S. oilfield basins could emerge as some of the world’s most important lithium resources.
What was the first big opportunity you saw that led you to starting LibertyStream?
The first major opportunity emerged from a simple but powerful question: how do you turn the oil and gas industry’s largest waste stream into a valuable resource? My career has been rooted in oil & gas, and after selling my last company in 2020, I set out to explore “big” ideas connected to the industry’s future. Produced water - oilfield brine - had always been treated strictly as a liability. Every operator manages it, every barrel of oil brings brine with it, and the entire system is built around moving and disposing of that water. I wanted to know whether that waste stream could be monetized.
I assembled a team of chemists to analyze brine samples across multiple basins, and the results were obvious: there were commercial quantities of lithium in oilfield brine. The challenge, however, was that the industry had long considered anything below 100 ppm uneconomic and incompatible with existing Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technologies.
That constraint became the opportunity. If we could design a process capable of extracting lithium at concentrations below 30 ppm, we could unlock one of the largest untapped lithium resources in North America—using infrastructure that already exists and operates every day. My background in oil & gas made it clear that the scale of brine production, transportation, and disposal was enormous. The missing piece was a technology and business model that could profitably capture the lithium within it.
From day one, LibertyStream was built around three core objectives:
1) Develop a proprietary DLE technology capable of extracting lithium from oilfield brine with concentrations under 30 ppm.
2) Partner directly with industry, leveraging the water-handling infrastructure already in place.
3) Prove commercial viability in the largest basin in North America by demonstrating profitable, repeatable extraction at field scale.
That combination - deep industry experience, a massive overlooked resource, and a clear technological challenge - was the catalyst for founding LibertyStream.
Can you share how you currently see the opportunity in direct lithium extraction technology?
I see Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) as one of the most transformative opportunities in the global lithium supply chain.
Lithium production today is still dominated by hard‑rock mining, largely because DLE technologies have been in their early stages of development. But the fundamentals are shifting. DLE offers a fundamentally different value proposition: extraction cycles measured in hours instead of months, significantly higher recovery rates, and the ability to tap into brine resources that were previously considered uneconomic or inaccessible.
As the technology matures, I believe DLE will become the dominant method of lithium production globally. It is faster, more scalable, and far more compatible with the growing demand for domestic, secure, and environmentally responsible supply chains. The scale of the opportunity in U.S. oilfield basins alone is significant. In regions like the Permian and the Bakken, the combination of massive produced‑water volumes and consistent lithium content creates the potential to produce up to 250,000 tonnes per year of lithium. That positions U.S. oilfields as world‑class lithium resources - something that was unimaginable just a few years ago.
In short, DLE is moving from a promising concept to a commercially viable, high-impact technology. As it continues to advance, it will reshape where lithium comes from, how quickly it can be produced, and which regions emerge as leaders in the energy transition.
Can you share a bit about how LibertyStream’s technology actually works to produce battery grade lithium?
LibertyStream’s process for producing battery‑grade lithium is built around three integrated phases: pre‑treatment, direct lithium extraction, and refining. Together, they form a complete end‑to‑end pathway from raw oilfield brine to high‑purity lithium carbonate.
1) Pre‑Treatment: Preparing the Brine: Before extraction can occur, we need to remove the iron, organics, and suspended solids naturally present in oilfield brine. We use two proven, widely deployed technologies:
- Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF): This step lifts and removes iron and organic material.
- Walnut Shell Filtration: A robust filtration method used in the industry for decades to polish the water and ensure consistent quality entering the DLE system.
These steps ensure the brine meets the specifications required for efficient lithium extraction.
2) Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE): Capturing the Lithium: Once pre‑treated, the brine enters our proprietary DLE system, which operates in two sub‑steps:
- Lithium Capture: The brine flows through our reaction vessels containing LibertyStream’s proprietary media. This media selectively binds lithium, stripping it from the brine in less than one hour—a dramatic improvement over traditional evaporation‑based methods.
- Lithium Recovery: After the media captures the lithium, we use a controlled chemical process to release it, producing a lithium chloride eluate. This eluate is the feedstock for the refining phase.
This step is the core innovation that enables economic extraction from brines with lithium concentrations below 30 ppm.
3) Refining: Producing Battery‑Grade Lithium Carbonate: The refining phase transforms the lithium chloride eluate into a high‑purity lithium carbonate product through three key stages:
a) Impurity Removal: We use a combination of reagents and ion‑exchange systems to precipitate and remove impurities, effectively “purifying” the eluate.
b) Crystallization: A controlled crystallization process separates lithium from sodium, potassium, and other salts.
c) Carbonation and Finishing: Lithium is converted into lithium carbonate. Final crystallization produces high‑purity, spec‑compliant product suitable for industrial and battery customers.
The result is a fully integrated, modular, and scalable system capable of converting oilfield brine into high‑quality lithium carbonate—quickly, efficiently, and at a commercial scale.
Why did you choose to begin deploying LibertyStream’s technology in the Permian Basin?
We chose the Permian Basin because it represents the single largest oilfield‑brine lithium resource in North America - and the most immediate pathway to commercial scale.
Every day, more than 20 million barrels of produced water are transported and disposed of across the Permian. That volume is unmatched anywhere else on the continent. When you combine that scale with consistent lithium concentrations across multiple formations, the Permian becomes a world‑class opportunity for Direct Lithium Extraction.
Our analysis shows that the basin has the potential to support up to 200,000 tonnes per year of battery‑grade lithium. No other region in North America offers that combination of resource size, existing infrastructure, and operational maturity. For LibertyStream, the decision was straightforward:
- The largest brine volumes
- The strongest infrastructure network
- The highest potential lithium output
Starting in the Permian allows us to demonstrate commercial viability at scale, partner directly with operators who already manage massive water systems, and position the U.S. oilfield sector as a globally competitive source of lithium for the energy transition.
How does LibertyStream structure a typical deal with an oil and gas company currently?
LibertyStream structures its partnerships to align incentives, leverage existing infrastructure, and accelerate commercial deployment. Our most recent agreement with Select Water is a good example of how we approach these relationships.
Under this structure, LibertyStream funds, designs, constructs, and operates the full DLE and refining facility. The initial installation is designed with a nameplate capacity of 1,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, with the ability to scale as brine volumes and customer demand grow.
The facility is fully integrated into Select’s existing water‑handling network. Select provides access to its pipeline infrastructure, water treatment capabilities, and produced‑water management systems, which are essential for sourcing, transporting, and pre‑treating the brine that feeds our DLE process. This allows LibertyStream to deploy capital efficiently while tapping into infrastructure that already moves millions of barrels of water every day.
In return, Select receives a royalty on lithium carbonate production, creating a long‑term, mutually beneficial partnership where both parties participate in the value created from converting oilfield brine into a high‑value mineral product.
This model - LibertyStream owning and operating the lithium facilities, and partners contributing infrastructure and water expertise - creates a scalable framework we can replicate across major basins as we expand.
LibertyStream has started to validate that lithium carbonate can successfully be produced from your automated continuous flow refining units. How does that de-risk LibertyStream as a company, in your view?
Validating that we can refine our lithium chloride eluate into a saleable lithium carbonate product directly in the field is one of the most important de‑risking milestones for LibertyStream. It marks the transition from being a technology‑development company to a true commercial producer.
Today, there is no established refining infrastructure in the United States capable of converting lithium from oilfield brine into lithium carbonate. By building and operating our own automated continuous‑flow refining units, LibertyStream controls the entire value chain - from extraction to finished product. That gives us three major advantages:
- Commercial readiness: We can now demonstrate that our DLE technology doesn’t stop at producing an eluate—we can deliver a finished, saleable lithium carbonate product at the at our DLE facility.
- Quality control: By refining in‑house, we maintain full control over purity, consistency, and product specifications, ensuring customers receive reliable, high‑quality lithium carbonate every time.
- Scalability and independence: We are not dependent on third‑party refineries or external processing capacity, which allows us to scale production in direct alignment with our field deployments.
In short, proving that we can refine lithium carbonate at the field level significantly reduces technical, operational, and commercial risk. It validates our end‑to‑end model and positions LibertyStream to move confidently into large‑scale production.
LibertyStream has also entered into some early stage deals to provide lithium carbonate to battery manufacturers. Can you share how this will begin to scale up and how this is going to change the future of the business?
Once we gained confidence that we could consistently produce lithium carbonate in the field, we began sending samples to lithium customers that meet their technical specifications. That step is the foundation for how LibertyStream will scale and how it will reshape the future of our business. What happens next is transformative for three reasons:
1) Customer qualification unlocks commercial offtake: Lithium carbonate customers need to validate that our product meets their performance and purity requirements. As they complete their testing and qualification cycles, we move from being a technology developer to a supplier integrated directly into their material supply chains. This is the gateway to long‑term offtake agreements.
2) Offtake agreements drive scale: Once customers are comfortable with product quality, they can begin committing to multi‑year volumes. Those commitments directly support the expansion of our refining capacity and the deployment of additional DLE units in the field. In other words, customer demand becomes the engine that scales LibertyStream.
3) It shifts LibertyStream from a field‑operations company to a full‑fledged lithium producer: Producing consistent lithium carbonate in the field is a technical milestone. Securing customers who rely on that product is a commercial milestone.Together, they fundamentally change the profile of the company:
- We move from proving the technology to monetizing it.
- We transition from early‑stage operations to a recurring‑revenue business.
- We establish LibertyStream as a domestic supplier to the battery and energy‑storage sectors.
In short, these early customer relationships are the bridge between validation and scale. They position LibertyStream to grow rapidly, expand production capacity, and become a meaningful contributor to the U.S. lithium supply chain.
What do you believe LibertyStream is doing differently than other companies pursuing the opportunity in direct lithium extraction?
LibertyStream is taking a fundamentally different approach than other companies pursuing Direct Lithium Extraction, and it comes down to two things: we offer a true end‑to‑end solution, and we are materially further ahead in proving commercial viability.
First, we are building a complete pathway - from raw oilfield brine all the way to finished, saleable lithium carbonate. Our goal is to deliver commercial - scale lithium carbonate production by the end of 2026, positioning us as a leader in the direct lithium extraction industry in North America.
Over the past quarter, we achieved two milestones that set us apart:
- We successfully produced lithium carbonate directly from our field operations, demonstrating that our proprietary DLE technology and automated continuous‑flow refining system can convert oilfield brine into a finished product entirely in‑house. This validates the full value chain - not just extraction, but refining, purity control, and product consistency.
- We secured our first major commercial partnership with Select Water, giving us access to the scale of brine feedstock required to build and operate commercial extraction and refining units. This ensures we have the volumes, infrastructure, and operational support needed to meet our 2026 production targets.
Together, these achievements position LibertyStream not just as a technology developer, but as the first company in North America capable of deploying a fully integrated, scalable DLE‑to‑carbonate solution from oilfield brine. It’s this combination of technical readiness, field validation, and strategic partnerships that truly differentiates us and sets the foundation for rapid commercial expansion.
From your perspective, how scalable is the opportunity for LibertyStream to continuously partner with large oil and gas companies?
From my perspective, the opportunity for LibertyStream to partner with large oil and gas and midstream water infrastructure companies is very scalable.
In the Permian Basin alone, the resource potential is significant. With the ability to scale operations to as much as 200,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year, LibertyStream could become the largest lithium producer in the world—by a factor of 2.5×. No other basin offers this combination of brine volume, infrastructure maturity, and operational consistency.
What makes this so scalable is the nature of the oil and gas industry itself. Operators and water-midstream companies in the Permian have already invested billions of dollars into the infrastructure required to produce oil, manage water, and move fluids across the basin. The pipelines, disposal networks, treatment systems, and logistics are already built. LibertyStream’s model is designed to plug directly into that existing ecosystem. By partnering with industry rather than recreating the infrastructure ourselves, we can:
- Scale rapidly across multiple sites
- Deploy capital efficiently at a fraction of the cost of greenfield projects
- Leverage proven, high‑capacity water systems that operate 24/7
- Expand in step with our partners’ existing operations
This approach allows us to grow with speed and discipline while aligning incentives with the companies that already manage the largest brine volumes in North America.
In short, the scalability comes from a simple but powerful combination: a world‑class resource, an industry with built‑in infrastructure, and a partnership model that accelerates deployment rather than slowing it down
Some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world have begun testing direct lithium extraction including ExxonMobil, Occidental and Equinor. How does LibertyStream’s technology differ from what these companies are doing?
The major oil and gas companies exploring Direct Lithium Extraction - ExxonMobil, Occidental, Equinor - are all pursuing very large‑scale projects. Their size requires them to build massive, centralized facilities, which naturally means longer development timelines. LibertyStream is taking a different approach.
Our model is built around speed, modularity, and the ability to leverage existing infrastructure. That gives us several advantages:
1) We can deploy much faster than large‑scale greenfield projects because we plug directly into existing water‑handling and pipeline networks, and we don’t need to spend years building new infrastructure. Our first commercial DLE unit—1,000 tonnes per year—is sized intentionally to move into production now, not years from now.
2) We scale by multiplication, not by building mega‑projects. Instead of designing enormous facilities that take years to permit, construct, and commission, LibertyStream grows by deploying multiple modular DLE and refining units across the basin. This approach allows us to scale production steadily and predictably, site by site.
3) Existing infrastructure is our competitive advantage. Oil and gas companies have already invested billions into pipelines, disposal wells, and water‑treatment systems. By integrating directly into that infrastructure, LibertyStream avoids the long lead times and capital intensity that slow down larger players.
4) We are already moving into productionWhile the majors are still in testing phases, LibertyStream is positioned to enter commercial production this year. That timing difference is meaningful - it allows us to establish market presence, secure offtake, and refine our technology at scale ahead of the broader industry.
In short, the difference is agility. Large companies need large projects. LibertyStream can move now - deploying smaller, modular units, leveraging existing infrastructure, and scaling through replication rather than megaproject construction. That’s what allows us to lead the market into commercial DLE production rather than waiting for it to arrive.
LibertyStream has closed multiple new equity financing rounds recently. What is the primary use of that new growth capital going to be?
We raised new equity to ensure we can execute our growth plans at the pace the market opportunity demands. Following the announcement of our partnership with Select Water, the priority for this capital is straightforward: to fund the build‑out of our commercial operations. This includes:
- Constructing and deploying our first commercial‑scale DLE and refining units
- Integrating those units into Select’s existing water‑handling and pipeline infrastructure
- Expanding field operations to support continuous, scalable lithium carbonate production
The capital allows us to move from successful field validation to full commercial deployment. It ensures we have the resources to build, commission, and operate the facilities required to meet our 2026 production targets and support early customer demand. In short, the new equity is being used to turn LibertyStream from a proven technology platform into a commercial lithium producer at scale.
What do you think most investors still don’t fully understand about the potential in direct lithium extraction?
I think most investors recognize that Direct Lithium Extraction has enormous potential, but what many still struggle with is the lack of a commercial precedent. There are no fully operating DLE‑to‑carbonate facilities in North America today, so investors naturally question whether the technology can work at scale and whether it can do so profitably. That’s why our recent progress is so important. With the announcement of our partnership with Select Water - and with LibertyStream now demonstrating the ability to produce lithium carbonate directly from our field operations - we’re beginning to close that gap.
We’re showing that DLE is not just a promising concept, but a viable commercial pathway when paired with the right technology, the right brine source, and the right infrastructure partners. As we continue to validate end‑to‑end production and move into commercial deployment, I believe investors will start to see that DLE is not a future opportunity - it’s an emerging industry, and LibertyStream is helping define what commercial success looks like.
What are the biggest non-obvious challenges investors should be aware of when they are looking at companies building a business around direct lithium extraction?
One of the biggest non-obvious challenge investors should be aware of about Direct Lithium Extraction is that the technology itself is not the only hurdle. In reality, the non‑obvious challenges sit around everything required after the DLE step to actually produce a saleable product at scale.
Direct lithium extraction is only one piece of a much larger system. Other risks include:
1) The full value chain—not just extraction—must work. Producing a lithium chloride eluate is not the same as producing battery‑grade lithium carbonate.Companies must also master:
- Pre‑treatment
- Lithium recovery
- Refining and crystallization
- Quality control and consistency
If any one of these steps fails, the product isn’t saleable.
2) Infrastructure is the biggest hidden bottleneck. Large‑scale DLE projects require enormous infrastructure: pipelines, water‑handling systems, disposal capacity, power, and refining facilities. This is where most projects get delayed—not in the chemistry, but in the construction.
3) Permitting and environmental approvals can add years. Even if the technology works, the infrastructure build‑out requires:
- Environmental permits
- Water‑handling approvals
- Surface rights
- Local and state regulatory coordination
These processes can push timelines out by years and add significant cost.
4) Multi‑billion‑dollar projects amplify every risk. When companies pursue massive, centralized DLE facilities, the stakes rise dramatically. A delay in permitting, a change in brine chemistry, or a construction setback can stall a project indefinitely.
In short, investors need to look beyond the DLE step itself. The real challenge—and the real risk—is building the infrastructure, securing permits, and delivering a fully integrated system that can consistently produce battery‑grade lithium at commercial scale.
The price of lithium has gone through multiple dramatic and volatile swings over the last few years. Has that in any way changed the way you are building LibertyStream’s business model?
Not at all. The volatility in lithium prices hasn’t changed the way we’re building LibertyStream’s business model, because from day one we’ve been focused on being the low‑cost operator. That discipline is what insulates us from price swings.
One of the biggest cost drivers in traditional lithium projects is lifting and transportation, which can account for up to 40% of total operating costs. By partnering directly with the oil and gas industry and plugging into infrastructure that already moves millions of barrels of water every day, we eliminate those costs from our operating model. This gives us three major advantages:
- Cost stability: Our economics aren’t dependent on high lithium prices to be viable.
- Operational resilience: We avoid the capital and time required to build new water‑handling systems.
- Margin strength: Lower operating costs translate into stronger margins across price cycles.
In short, while lithium prices may fluctuate, our strategy doesn’t. LibertyStream is built to be competitive across the entire commodity cycle, not just during price peaks.
Where do you see the biggest changes in demand for battery grade lithium coming from over the next few decades?
Over the next few decades, I see two major forces driving the largest increases in demand for battery‑grade lithium: the continued global adoption of electric vehicles and the explosive growth of data centers.
1) Global EV adoption will remain a large driver of lithium demand. The growth in EVs doesn’t need to be concentrated in North America to reshape the market. Adoption across Europe, China, India, and emerging markets will continue to accelerate, and automakers are investing heavily in electrification. Even with improvements in battery chemistry, the sheer scale of global vehicle fleets means lithium demand will continue rising for decades.
2) Data centers - and the rise of AI - are creating a massive new source of demand. The world is building data centers at an unprecedented pace to support AI, cloud computing, and high‑performance workloads. These facilities require large-scale backup energy storage, and lithium‑ion batteries are becoming the preferred solution because of their reliability, energy density, and response time. As AI workloads grow, so does the need for resilient power systems. That translates directly into long‑term, structural demand for lithium.
Who is one of the smartest people that you know who you think we should interview next?
I think the political will behind developing a North American critical-minerals supply chain is going to be one of the most important forces shaping this industry over the next decade. There are so many highly intelligent, forward‑thinking leaders - both in government and across the critical‑minerals sector - who are deeply engaged in how we build domestic capacity for lithium, nickel, graphite, and other essential materials. Because of that, it’s difficult to narrow the conversation to just one person.
The most valuable perspectives right now are coming from a combination of policymakers who understand the strategic importance of domestic supply, and industry leaders who are actually building the technologies and infrastructure to make it happen. In many ways, the story of critical minerals is still being written, and the people shaping it span multiple disciplines - technology, energy, policy, and national security. That diversity of thought is exactly what makes this such an exciting space to be part of.
