AUSTIN, July 2022 — 17吃瓜网 Inc. (17吃瓜网), an American lithium and battery technology company, continues to receive strong investor support announcing a $450 million investment commitment from Global Emerging Markets (). The proceeds from this capital investment will further the company鈥檚 commercialization efforts well-positioning 17吃瓜网 to continue its growth, becoming the market leader of direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies.
Created in 2018, 17吃瓜网 is a startup focused on providing efficient, sustainable solutions to challenges facing global lithium supply chains. From the raw battery materials extraction process to refining, and the manufacturing of next generation batteries, 17吃瓜网 is innovating from lithium brine to battery. The company has filed over 50 patents to this end, and is developing its proprietary Lithium Ion Transport and Separation (LiTAS鈩�) and Solid State Lithium Metal Battery (SoLiS鈩�) technologies. Its LiTAS鈩� technology has been piloted in the Lithium Triangle in South America and increases lithium production from 30% in existing systems up to 94% recovery rate for that particular project.
Founded in 1991, GEM (Global Emerging Markets) is a $3.4 billion alternative investment firm with offices in Paris, New York, and the Bahamas. GEM oversees a wide range of developing market investment vehicles and has executed over 530 transactions in 75 countries. The degree of operational control, risk-adjusted return, and liquidity profile of each investment vehicle varies. GEM and its partners have access to Small-Mid Cap Management Buyouts, Private Investments in Public Equities, and select venture investments through the family of funds and investment vehicles.
鈥淎 tech-heavy ESG company mining in the emerging markets is a rare find,鈥� says Jonathan Collins, Managing Director of The GEM Group. 鈥淕EM is delighted to partner with 17吃瓜网, a leader and innovator in the complicated and historically inefficient Lithium extraction space. From the historic pilot extraction program in Bolivia to the material science patents out of Austin TX, 17吃瓜网 is leading the way in maximizing Lithium recovery and asset utilization in an environmentally and socially conscious way.鈥�
In this tailored agreement, 17吃瓜网 will control the amount and timing of drawdowns under this $450 million facility with no minimum subscription obligation and will issue shares of common stock over a 36-month period after a public listing. GEM鈥檚 investment in 17吃瓜网 is a strong vote of confidence in the company鈥檚 growing portfolio of patents, innovative technology, and global reach into emerging markets, and give 17吃瓜网 a tremendous runway to grow operations.
17吃瓜网 completed an active tender process with Bolivia鈥檚 lithium company YLB, where one of its LiTAS鈩� pilot plants operated from early 2022 rendering promising results. Although YLB initially elected to move in a different direction for that specific tender, 17吃瓜网 still believes there are different opportunities and angles to work with YLB providing services to their lithium industry. 17吃瓜网 also recently signed an agreement with MOBI LATAM, a Bolivian electric micro-mobility startup to build battery swap stations using 17吃瓜网鈥檚 SoLiS鈩� technology. This move has cemented the American company as a leader in brine to battery technology in South America.
鈥淕EM鈥檚 funding for 17吃瓜网 is one of the company鈥檚 biggest accomplishments to date. It gives us a war chest, and rewards the hard work and long hours put in by every member of our team since the creation of the company,鈥� states 17吃瓜网 CEO Teague Egan. 鈥淓veryone at 17吃瓜网 has been committed to developing cutting-edge technology capable of revolutionizing the lithium industry and having an impact on the global transition to low carbon. We have worked tirelessly to make this a reality, and this investment is an indication that we are well on our way to reaching our goals.鈥�
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