06:52 AM EDT, 09/20/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Standard Lithium ( SLI ) , a lithium development company, and global energy company Equinor on Friday said the U.S. Department of Energy selected their jointly-owned U.S. subsidiary, SWA Lithium, for award negotiation of up to US$225 million.

The selection is one of the largest ever awarded to a U.S. critical minerals project and is part of a second wave of funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the companies said.

The funding will support the construction of the central processing facility for phase 1 of the Southwest Arkansas project, designed to annually produce 22,500 tonnes of battery-quality lithium carbonate using direct lithium extraction technology.

The project's design is being updated from its original preliminary feasibility study and now targets a larger total output of 45,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate, to be developed in two phases of 22,500 tonnes each.

Standard Lithium ( SLI ) owns 55% of the Southwest Arkansas project, located in Lafayette and Columbia counties, with Equinox holding the rest.

The provisional grant is dependent on the completion of final negotiations with the DOE.

Standard Lithium's ( SLI ) share price at last look jumped 5.6% to US$1.33 in U.S. pre-market trading on Friday.