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Exxon earlier this year purchased 120,000 acres of a geological site in southern Arkansas called the Smackover Formation that is rich in lithium.
The company will start producing battery-grade lithium at the site as soon as 2027, and aims to supply enough of the mineral to support the manufacture of one million electric vehicles annually by 2030.
Discussions with potential customers such as electric vehicle and battery manufacturers are ongoing, Exxon said in a statement.
The lithium operation comes as the the major oil companies are under pressure to address climate change. While Shell and BP have focused on renewables such as wind and solar, Exxon is investing $17 billion through 2027 to reduce emissions with a focus on carbon capture, hydrogen and biofuels.
Dan Ammann, president of Exxon’s low carbon solutions business, told CNBC that ramping up domestic production of lithium is crucial to the energy transition. Exxon views lithium as a decades-long investment with high growth potential as the U.S. shifts to electric vehicles, Ammann said.
“We want to get in early,” Ammann told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We want to lead the way on domestic production of lithium, do it with a very favorable environmental footprint and set that as the standard.”