UNCG lithium discovery could mean more economic growth for North Carolina

GREENSBORO, N.C. — As Toyota expands its footprint in our state, another breakthrough right here in the Triad is putting our area on the national map for battery innovation. A new discovery by UNCG researchers could change the way lithium batteries are made.

Lithium batteries power almost everything these days such as phones, laptops, and electric cars. But getting lithium out of the ground is a long, expensive process that requires large-scale mining. A team at UNCG believes they’ve found a cleaner, faster, and much cheaper solution: filtering lithium directly out of water.

Inside a Greensboro research lab, scientists are running groundwater through a new type of filter they developed. As the water flows through, the filter captures lithium. That becomes one of the key building blocks