Santiago de Chile – Eni has announced the signing of an agreement to acquire a 25% stake in Black Giant SpA, a Chilean subsidiary of EnergyX. Black Giant holds a lithium development project in northern Chile, near the Salar de Punta Negra, representing a phased total investment of $225 million. Black Giant SpA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of EnergyX, a US start-up in which Eni already holds a minority stake through its corporate venture capital vehicle, Eni Next.

EnergyX is dedicated to developing innovative, proprietary technologies for more efficient lithium production through the Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) process. The company plans to apply these technologies to the Black Giant Project, which features a closed-loop system with total reinjection of produced formation water from wells. This process aims to significantly reduce environmental impact and water consumption compared to traditional lithium production methods that rely on evaporation ponds.

The project targets a full-scale production capacity of 52.5 kton/year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) across two phases: the development of Train 1 (7.5 kton/year) with a scheduled start-up in 2028, followed by a second phase adding 45 kton/year of capacity, set to start up in 2030.

Through this investment, Eni will secure a seat on the Board of Black Giant and the option to off-take up to 25% of the total LCE production. This supply will support Eni’s ongoing initiative in the Brindisi industrial area, where it is building a Gigafactory for stationary lithium batteries. Furthermore, Eni will back the venture with a significant technical and operational contribution, leveraging its upstream development know-how, global energy infrastructure expertise, and proven operational track record to accelerate the project’s timeline and commercialization.