RENO, Nev. — Northern Nevada-based lithium-ion battery technology company Dragonfly Energy and Ioneer USA Corporation — a subsidiary of Australian-based Ioneer, which owns the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project located in Esmerelda County, Nevada — recently entered into a Memorandum of Understanding.
The MOU outlines how the companies plan to work together “to strengthen the domestic battery supply chain from critical materials to next generation lithium technologies,” according to a Dec. 22 press release.
“Dragonfly Energy is pleased to collaborate with a company like Ioneer, which is developing innovative technology that will allow for a vertically integrated energy supply chain in America, and more specifically, in the great state of Nevada,” Denis Phares, Dragonfly Energy CEO, said in a statement. “Anyone bringing jobs to the Battle Born state has our full support. Moreover, the technology that Ioneer is developing dovetails nicely with Dragonfly Energy’s green initiatives.”
According to, Ioneer the company aims to commence production at the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in 2023.
Rhyolite Ridge is expected to produce upwards of 24,000 tons of lithium materials and 192,000 tons of boric acid per year.
"The U.S. and Nevada have prioritized the need for a domestic lithium-ion battery supply chain and with little current supply, development of Rhyolite Ridge will be crucial to meeting this important goal,” Ioneer President Bernard Rowe said in a statement. “As Ioneer focuses on producing the materials needed for clean technologies, it’s vital for companies like Dragonfly Energy to develop those technologies domestically.
"This collaboration is just one more example of the tremendous opportunity Nevada has to lead the way to a more sustainable future while creating jobs in high tech manufacturing right here in the state.”
Dragonfly Energy officially launched in 2016 as a research and development company looking for manufacturing methods to reduce the cost of energy storage.
The Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project, located in the Silver Peak Range near Tonopah, is one of several new proposed projects in Nevada that are aimed at extracting lithium, an element needed for the creation of batteries used in electric vehicles and solar storage, technology needed to decarbonize the grid.
According to previous reports, Ioneer says it's committed to mining in a “ethically and environmentally responsible manner.”
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