Minerva Lithium is a UNC Greensboro spinoff commercializing Nano Mosaic, a coordinated polymer framework that captures lithium from brine in about three days. One gram of the material reportedly has a surface area equal to a soccer pitch and is placed in filtration bags and metal columns for a two-step capture process. The company says it can extract one metric ton of lithium using roughly 30,000 gallons of water versus 500,000 gallons for evaporative pond processing. Minerva plans to sell Nano Mosaic to brine operators or bromine producers at low or no cost, then buy raw lithium back, process it, and sell finished lithium to battery and chemical manufacturers. The startup is developing a pilot “skid” that holds five filter units to treat ~171 gallons per minute and produce about 11 tons of lithium per day, which Minerva estimates could translate to roughly $230 million in annual revenue at current lithium prices. The team is small (about four employees) and is seeking additional funding to reach pilot demonstration and third-party validation.

Total raised

$1M

Funding rounds

1

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Oct 2022