Our Journey
In 2022, two veterans of the chemical and critical mineral industries crossed paths at a Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) startup. Though they came from different corners of the industrial world, Scott Conley and Jack Bender quickly recognized a shared frustration with the status quo of current DLE technologies.
While the potential of DLE was promising, they saw firsthand the significant operational complexities and ineffectiveness of the separation processes. They also recognized that the bespoke nature of the methods and specialized chemistries to recover lithium further complicated the cost structure adding to the barriers that prevented the technology from scaling commercially. This is particularly true for challenging environments like the hot brines of the Smackover Formation stretching across Texas and Arkansas. In the end, these issues have complicated the realization of DLE as the answer to the future lithium supply gap.
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Driven by a shared desire to transcend existing technological barriers, Scott and Jack founded Paransas Solutions. Because of their world-class expertise in traditional DLE methods, their collaboration led them to discover a truly novel Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) process—one that achieves lithium recovery entirely without the use of adsorption, solvent extraction, or membrane separation.
They believe this breakthrough technology fundamentally overcomes the scalability and capital efficiency limitations that have historically hindered commercial DLE projects. And, for those reasons, DLE will not solve the lithium supply gap in the United States and Canada.
This is why there is a need for change in the DLE industry now.
The ALLITIC™ process is perfectly suited for the complex and very high temperature brine chemistry found in the Smackover Formation located across Texas and Arkansas, and in the deep saline brines discovered in the Leduc aquifer in Alberta and in the Prairie regions of Saskatchewan.
We believe the ALLITIC™ process positions Paransas Solutions to redefine the future of North America's lithium production.
Scott Conley
Co-Founder and CEO
"We are focused on lithium recovery from hot brines especially in the Smackover. There is a real dilemma with DLE, and most don't want to admit it. We've solved it with the ALLITIC™ process, and our business model is to deploy through strategic partnerships. We want to put this technology into as many trusted hands as possible. Now, it's about getting the message out."
Scott brings to Paransas a legacy of fundamental innovation for DLE. In 2008, he co-founded Simbol, the DLE pioneering startup that won the best technology award at the Cleantech Forum in San Francisco. Scott having effectively sparked the DLE revolution in the United States, it was at Simbol where he invented a proprietary alumina-based sorbent specifically designed for lithium absorption from the Salton Sea geothermal brines currently known as the "Lithium Valley" located in southern California.
His breakthrough proved that lithium could be extracted directly from high-temperature resources like brines found in the Smackover Formation, bypassing the environmental footprint and multi-month timelines of traditional evaporation ponds. His work at Simbol laid the scientific and engineering foundation for modern DLE technologies for lithium recovery from hot brines in the United States.
Never satisfied, Scott has spent the better part of a decade thinking through the limitations and challenges facing traditional DLE for lithium recovery from hot brines in North America and the reason for forming Paransas Solutions with Jack.
Dr. Jack Bender
Co-Founder and CTO
"The lithium chemistry that we discovered is very intriguing and exciting. The ALLITIC™ process simplifies the whole lithium recovery process relative to DLE. For hot brines, adsorption, solvent extraction, and membrane separation are just not suitable. This is the most exciting thing that I have worked on in over 20 years, and I believe this technology can be the foundation for unlocking lithium supply in North America."
Jack’s global reputation as an authority in solvent extraction and critical mineral recovery is without question. Jack is an applied chemical technologist and a critical empiricist at heart, bringing a wealth of deep science knowledge to Paransas. He is a world-renowned expert in liquid/liquid phase transfer catalysis for REE, Cu, Ga, U, Ni, Co, V, PGM, Bi, Sc, Sn, Sb, As, Mn, Zn, Li, and other metals.
With a career spanning several leadership roles at industrial giants like BASF and Tesla, Jack has spent decades refining the processes used to separate and purify critical minerals on a massive scale. His deep understanding of chemistry and the rigorous requirements of applied chemistry at commercial scale provides the "industrial lens" necessary to evaluate whether a technology can survive the transition from a laboratory bench to a multi-acre facility.
Jack has developed a multitude of extractants for lithium, developed DLE systems for adsorption, solvent extraction and membrane separation and has found them to be mediocre solutions for lithium recovery from hot brine resources like the Smackover Formation. Hence, the driving force for him to found Paransas Solutions with Scott.