Empower EIT Brings Vertically Integrated Lithium Platform Online at its Dallas Operations & Innovation Center Producing Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 21, 2026--

Empower EIT, a vertically integrated lithium technology and operating company, has completed the commissioning of its 17,000-square-foot Dallas Operations & Innovation Center as the company targets first commercial sales in 2027. Leveraging its proprietary direct lithium extraction (DLE) and conversion technology, the company processed extracted lithium chloride and converted it into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

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The most recent processing involved five campaigns that produced battery-grade lithium carbonate from eluate representing 40,000 gallons of brine each, extending proven capabilities from multiple domestic brine resources in previous trials. All five campaigns were sent for independent third-party testing, which verified that Empower EIT consistently produced battery-grade lithium carbonate at 99.68% to 99.91% purity.

Empower EIT has also expanded its executive leadership team with Jim Chaney joining the company as senior advisor. Chaney has more than 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, most recently with Hunt Oil.

“With our Dallas Operations & Innovation Center fully commissioned and the addition of Jim Chaney rounding out our leadership team, we’ve achieved two important milestones on our path to commercialization,” said Patrick Dowling, CEO of Empower EIT. “We are well positioned to meet our goal of first commercial sales in 2027 as we focus on asset acquisition, evaluating and testing additional U.S. mineral assets, strategic capital partnerships and offtake partnerships.”

As Empower EIT continues to progress toward commercialization, Chaney will play a critical role in advancing the company’s reservoir strategy, technical diligence and integration of subsurface expertise across its expanding energy and lithium portfolio.

“Empower EIT’s combination of differentiating technology, experienced leadership and strategic commercialization roadmap positions the company as a fully domestic, vertically integrated lithium platform,” Chaney said. “When I retired from Hunt, I was looking for a smaller, aggressive company I could support, and I’m excited to join Empower EIT at this pivotal point in the company’s growth.”

Third-party testing has validated Empower EIT’s proprietary DLE and conversion technology, demonstrating the company’s ability to execute the complete lithium processing value chain, from the field to the finished product. In addition to the full processing of brine through DLE to battery-grade lithium carbonate, the Dallas Operations & Innovation Center is equipped with an environmental lab to support resource owners in brine testing, resource validation and the design of lithium recovery systems from bench through field-deployable systems.

“The commissioning of our Dallas Operations & Innovation Center represents the culmination of more than a decade of research, development and technical optimization. Combined with the field deployments to date, this validates that our technology is ready to support commercial deployment,” said Preston McEachern, Chief Technology Officer for Empower EIT. “We’re ready to help additional resource owners unlock value through resource validation, efficient processing and conversion to battery-grade materials, and technology partnerships.”

As demand for battery-grade materials continues to grow to support domestic energy storage and electrification, Empower EIT is committed to strengthening the domestic critical minerals supply chain by providing an integrated, fully U.S.-based lithium processing solution.

Empower EIT has shipped battery-grade lithium carbonate to a confidential offtake partner for final evaluation.

About Empower EIT

Empower EIT is a vertically integrated lithium technology and operating company focused on building a fully domestic, end-to-end lithium supply chain. The company was assembled strategically, combining experienced leadership, operational expertise, U.S. mineral assets and proprietary direct lithium extraction and conversion technology into a single platform, representing the integration of multiple companies and more than a decade of research and development. With operations spanning resource development, extraction, production and conversion, Empower EIT is positioned to provide a U.S.-based solution to meet the accelerating demand for lithium across energy storage, data centers, electric vehicles and clean energy markets in North America and beyond. For more information, visit empowereit.com.

Empower EIT's Dallas Operations & Innovation Center

SEATTLE (AP) — One day after Caleb Ferguson was caught on camera yelling at umpire Bill Miller and appearing to use profanity, the Cincinnati Reds lefty apologized.

Before Tuesday night’s game against the Seattle Mariners, Ferguson said it was “unprofessional” for him to express his frustrations toward Miller the way he did. Miller got in the way of Reds second baseman Edwin Arroyo on a single by Victor Robles, shortly after Cal Raleigh hit a grand slam off Ferguson to make it 7-0. The Mariners won 8-0.

When asked about the play after Monday night’s game, Ferguson said, “You have to ask Bill,” referring to the umpire, and walked away. Various social media accounts posted videos that made it clear Ferguson was insulting Miller.

“As long as I’ve been in this game, I don’t think you’ll find a clip of me going at an umpire like that,” Ferguson said Tuesday. “I’ll wear that on the chest, seek Bill out and definitely make it right with him. Very unprofessional on my part. I’ve got to be better.”

After Monday’s game, Reds manager Terry Francona was asked about Miller’s positioning on the field and said questions should be directed to Miller.

“I don’t know,” Francona said. “I don’t ever look up and think, well, where should an umpire be? That’s on them. It’s discouraging that it happened.”

A day later, Ferguson was more measured. He said he wished he'd seen the videos earlier and that he'd apologized to Miller sooner than he did.

“It’s just a very unprofessional thing on my part,” Ferguson said. “I know these things happen within the game. But I don’t like that I was kind of the centerpiece of this.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson throws against the Chicago Cubs during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, July 11, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson works against the Colorado Rockies in the sixtth inning of a baseball game Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Cincinnati Reds relief pitcher Caleb Ferguson reacts in the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Monday, July 20, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)