Canadian Startup Mangrove Lithium Lines Up $85 Million in New Financing

By Robb M. Stewart

Mangrove Water Technologies, a Canadian startup developing a refining platform for battery-grade lithium, has secured $85 million in financing to support operations at its first commercial facility in British Columbia.

The financing package is led by an up to $65 million investment from the federal government through the arms-length Canada Growth Fund, alongside funding from existing investors BMW i Ventures, a venture capital arm of Bayerische Motoren Werke, and Breakthrough Energy Ventures.

The transaction closed concurrently with a 9 million Canadian dollar ($6.5 million) clean technology manufacturing investment tax credit- backed loan, underwritten by National Bank of Canada.

The company, known as Mangrove Lithium, is working to commercialize its electrochemical lithium refining platform, which produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide and carbonate with lower carbon intensity and less waste than conventional refining. The company recently completed the first phase of construction on an 1,000 metric ton a year refining plant in Western Canada designed to produce enough lithium to power about 25,000 electric vehicles annually.

Mangrove Lithium said it is advancing a full-scale plant expected to support at least 500,000 EVs a year.

Canadian government officials said the financing aims to support an integrated lithium supply chain in the country using Canadian-developed technology. Canada Growth Fund is a C$15 billion public investment vehicle launched by Ottawa to attract private capital to invest in Canadian projects and businesses.

"Investing in Canadian cleantech is an investment in our economic sovereignty and is crucial to building a competitive, low-carbon economy," Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com