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Anticipation Builds for Fast-Approaching 2025 Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit

This photo shows ExxonMobil’s first lithium rig in 2023 near Magnolia, Ark. It was all part of the company's appraisal program in Columbia County, in southwest Arkansas. By 2030, the oil and gas conglomerate aims to produce enough lithium to support the manufacture of about 1 million electric vehicles a year.
This photo shows ExxonMobil’s first lithium rig in 2023 near Magnolia, Ark. It was all part of the company's appraisal program in Columbia County, in southwest Arkansas. By 2030, the oil and gas conglomerate aims to produce enough lithium to support the manufacture of about 1 million electric vehicles a year.

This lithium summit is billed as a “premier gathering of industry leaders, policymakers, and investors focused on the state’s growing role in the global lithium economy.”

There’s an estimated 5 to 19 million tons of lithium roughly 1.4 to 1.7 miles underground in Southwest Arkansas, according to the latest government research figures. That much lithium would be enough for about nine times the annual worldwide demand for electric vehicles projected for 2030.
So, it’s little wonder then why even the United States Geological Survey (USGS) refers to this geological unit known as the Smackover Formation as a hidden treasure. Specifically, lithium is a critical mineral in the production of lithium-ion batteries, as the world shifts away from fossil fuels.

While the scientific parameters of the Smackover lithium play become ever clearer over time, thanks largely to public and private research inquiries, the play’s ultimate economic fate remains largely opaque. That’s where the 2025 Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit is hoped to add at least some clarity.
The first such summit took place in February 2024. Now, almost two full years later, Arkansas Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald says he expects this year’s installment to be bigger and better. “Well, this is, of course, the long game we’re dealing with. Effectively building a brand new industry, on top of, you know, the process industry that already exists in South Arkansas. But it’s, it’s building relationships, having companies come here that don’t know anything about Arkansas, having them understand about the business environment, the pro-business environment in Arkansas. The Governor’s going to be there, as well. She’s fully engaged in this process.”

McDonald made the remarks on the Sunday, October 12 edition of the statewide syndicated program “Talk Business and Politics” and is scheduled to be among the 27 keynote speakers at the two-day event October 28-29, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Organized and hosted by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC), this summit is billed as a “premier gathering of industry leaders, policymakers, and investors focused on the state’s growing role in the global lithium economy.”
Sheryl Edwards of the workforce training initiative Lithium Learns [at Southern Arkansas University, in Magnolia, Ark.] had also joined McDonald on the same Sunday edition of TB&P. Edwards emphasized the state’s financial commitment to Arkansas’ nascent lithium industry by pointing out that it had already invested millions of dollars into workforce development and educational programs. She said that was thanks, in large part, to government grants, and partnerships with colleges and technical training institutions.
Edwards explained the reasoning behind the effort is to make the lithium industry viable in southwest Arkansas. To do so, they need to create and then sustain an effective local talent pipeline. “Starting at K12 and infusing STEM education with a mobile STEM lab that’s going to hit the ground and run, with infusing concurrent career and technical education in school districts that currently are not served with career and technical education doing programs such as chemical process technology and construction technology.”
On a very practical level, the 2025 Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit also promises to “feature speakers and experts who will shed more light on building the supply chain, from extraction to production, with potential outcomes being new partnerships and a clearer path toward commercial-scale operations in South Arkansas.”
Several companies have already jumped in to the Smackover Lithium play, including ExxonMobil. The oil and gas behemoth began drilling its first exploratory well back in 2023. And in spring 2025, the company’s Texas-based subsidiary, Salwerx LLC gained application approval from the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission for lithium production rights in more than 56,000 acres of south Arkansas.
On June 23, 2025, the state of Arkansas gave its stamp of approval to make it official. ExxonMobil aims to reach production by 2027 and be a leading supplier for electric vehicles by 2030.

Smackover Lithium is a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor. Formed in May 2024, Smackover Lithium is developing two Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) Project Companies in southwest Arkansas and east Texas. Standard Lithium owns 55% interest and Equinor holds the remaining 45% interest in the two Project Companies, with Standard Lithium retaining operatorship.
Smackover Lithium is a joint venture between Standard Lithium and Equinor. Formed in May 2024, Smackover Lithium is developing two Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) Project Companies in southwest Arkansas and east Texas. Standard Lithium owns 55% interest and Equinor holds the remaining 45% interest in the two Project Companies, with Standard Lithium retaining operatorship.

One company that hopes to compete with ExxonMobil is Standard Lithium. In fact, it is teaming up with another company, Equinor, with plans to begin production by 2028.
Standard Lithium and Equinor released a joint statement that described themselves as:
"Standard Lithium has been a leading lithium developer in the Smackover Formation region since 2018 with a vision to produce Made-In-USA battery-quality lithium to power America's energy transition. Equinor aligns with this vision as a global energy leader, delivering safe and reliable energy to help power American society for nearly 40 years. Together, Smackover Lithium is a joint venture committed to developing top tier lithium brine projects that utilize state-of-the-art technology to secure the future of sustainably sourced domestic lithium in the United States." Refer to their graphic (above).

Originally from the Pacific Northwest, and a graduate of the University of Washington, Jeff began his on-air broadcasting career 33 years ago in the Black Hills of South Dakota as a general assignment reporter.