Direct lithium extraction (DLE) is gaining another commercial-scale test in the United States as POSCO Holdings partners with Anson Resources to build and operate a demonstration plant at the Green River Lithium Project in Utah.
The agreement makes POSCO the first Korean company to conduct a DLE demonstration in the United States. The facility will use POSCO’s proprietary DLE technology to process brines from Anson’s Green River project in the Paradox Basin.
The plant is targeted to begin operations in 2027, with technology verification expected to continue through 2028. The project is intended to establish whether POSCO’s extraction process can operate continuously at an industrial scale using Green River brines.
Testing DLE on U.S. Brine
The Green River project provides a specific test environment for DLE because the lithium is contained in underground brines rather than conventional hard-rock deposits or surface evaporation ponds.
Traditional brine extraction often relies on large evaporation ponds to concentrate lithium over extended periods. DLE uses selective extraction processes to separate lithium from brine, potentially reducing the land requirements and processing time associated with conventional evaporation.
The difference is important for project development because extraction technology affects more than recovery rates. Energy consumption, water management, reagent use, brine chemistry, equipment requirements and downstream processing all feed into the economics of a commercial lithium project.
From Demonstration to Commercial Validation
POSCO will lead the design, construction and operation of the demonstration facility using its proprietary DLE technology. The plant will process brine produced from Anson’s Bosydaba #1 well at Green River.
The purpose is not to establish full commercial production immediately. Instead, the demonstration is intended to generate operating data that can determine whether the technology can be transferred from controlled development environments into continuous industrial operation.
That distinction matters for DLE developers. Laboratory recovery rates and pilot results provide useful technical evidence, but commercial projects must also demonstrate consistent performance across extended operating periods and variable brine conditions.
Why Utah Matters to the U.S. Lithium Supply Chain
The project also places DLE development within a broader effort to establish more domestic lithium supply.
Green River is located in Utah’s Paradox Basin, where Anson Resources is developing lithium-bearing brine resources. POSCO’s involvement brings a major battery-materials producer directly into the evaluation of U.S. brine resources and DLE technology.
For the U.S. battery supply chain, projects such as Green River could provide another route to domestically produced lithium while reducing reliance on conventional extraction and processing routes.
For technology developers, meanwhile, the project provides an opportunity to demonstrate whether DLE can perform reliably under the specific chemical conditions of U.S. brines.
The Commercial Question for DLE
The most important outcome will not simply be whether lithium can be extracted from Green River brine.
The demonstration will provide evidence on whether the process can achieve the required combination of recovery, consistency, operating efficiency and downstream product quality at industrial scale.
Those factors will ultimately determine whether DLE can move from demonstration facilities to larger commercial plants.
POSCO’s Utah project therefore represents a useful test of a central question facing the DLE sector: can selective lithium extraction deliver predictable performance when applied continuously to a real-world brine resource?
If the demonstration meets its technical objectives, the results could provide a stronger basis for expanding DLE deployment in the U.S. and evaluating similar brine resources for domestic lithium production.
