INTERVIEW: Pure Lithium CEO discusses electrodeposited anodes, supply chain

Pure Lithium is developing lithium-metal batteries with electrodeposited lithium-metal anodes and a cathode roadmap that starts with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) and later advances to a vanadium-based cathode. CEO Emilie Bodoin explained the company's approach to overcoming commercialization barriers for lithium metal batteries, including producing pure, thin lithium metal and integrating it onto copper substrates.

"In our lifetime, there have only been two batteries commercialized past gigawatt-hour scale: lithium ion and lead-acid," Bodoin said. She noted that lithium metal has been considered a promising chemistry due to its potential to reduce cell weight and volume by eliminating graphite.

Graphite's role and lithium metal's challenges

Conventional lithium-ion batteries use graphite anodes, which Bodoin described as a host material that does not actively contribute to the electrochemical reaction. She said graphite represents a significant share of battery mass and volume and is largely sourced from China, which just escaped US antidumping duties.

Lithium-metal batteries replace graphite with a thin lithium metal layer on a copper substrate. Bodoin said handling lithium metal is challenging because it reacts with air constituents and because commercially available lithium metal has historically been too impure or thick for battery manufacturing.

Pure Lithium's process involves electrodeposition of lithium metal directly onto copper, allowing control over thickness by adjusting current and time. Bodoin said this process creates a bond between lithium and copper, which may help prevent delamination during cycling.

Supply chain and sourcing

The company's push to shorten lithium pathways comes amid repeated repricing of commodities markets in 2026, as supply-chain stress, tightens shipping conditions and lifts freight and delivered-cost risk premiums across multiple sectors. Bodoin said the company's model is designed to bypass several conventional steps in lithium's supply chain, such as refining carbonate or hydroxide, by taking lithium in solution form and feeding it directly into the electrodeposition process.

She cited potential lithium supply options in North America, including partnerships with producers, and said copper availability in the US supports domestic manufacturing. Bodoin added that vanadium resources and byproducts in multiple jurisdictions could reduce reliance on higher-risk supply chains.

Pure Lithium is building a pilot facility in Chicago, Bodoin said, without providing a specific commissioning date. The company's immediate focus is scaling manufacturing from lab work toward deployment.

In North America, Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed daily DDP US battery-grade lithium carbonate at $20,400/mt on April 14, stable on the day and on the week, reflecting standard battery-grade quality, minimum 99.5% Li2CO3, delivered 15-60 days forward.

Platts also assessed daily DDP US battery-grade lithium hydroxide at $20,400/mt on April 14, unchanged on the day and on the week, reflecting standard battery-grade quality, a minimum of 56.5% LiOH·H2O, delivery 15-60 days forward and a minimum volume of 5 mt.

Cathode strategy

Bodoin said the company's cathode strategy involves a vanadium-based cathode, which she described as thermally stable and capable of supporting higher energy density than conventional cathode materials. She cited the need to scale vanadium supply and processing.

As Pure Lithium works to scale its electrodeposition process beyond the lab, its approach aligns with wider battery-sector efforts to reduce supply-chain exposure and evaluate alternatives to conventional lithium-ion designs. The shift from graphite to lithium metal anodes, and the plan to commercialize first with LFP cathodes before pursuing vanadium-based cathodes, highlights both the potential advantages and the remaining manufacturing, durability and sourcing constraints facing next-generation cells