A study published in the journal Science Advances and touted Monday by the federal government projected that the formation in southern Arkansas could have between 5.1 and 19 million tons of the mineral in its brines.  

Lithium is used batteries that both power electric vehicles and help store renewable energy. Demand for the mineral could grow by more than 40 times by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency.

“Lithium is a critical mineral for the energy transition, and the potential for increased U.S. production to replace imports has implications for employment, manufacturing and supply-chain resilience,” David Applegate, director of the U.S. Geological Survey, said in a Monday press release. 

In their study, the researchers used a machine-learning model trained on “published and newly collected brine lithium concentration data” to create a map of predicted lithium concentrations in Smackover Formation brines across southern Arkansas.

Read more from our colleague Tara Suter at TheHill.com.

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