With $5.6 million in combined government funding, NESI is developing a next-generation electrochemical platform to support cleaner lithium refining and more resilient battery supply chains
NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc. (NESI), a Vancouver-based clean technology company advancing electrochemical processing for lithium refining and battery materials, today announced a total of $5.6 million in funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia, supporting NESI’s role in building the electrochemical infrastructure needed for cleaner lithium refining, and more resilient battery supply chains. This funding will also support domestic critical minerals processing and reduce reliance on legacy refining hubs.
The funding package includes advisory services and up to $3 million in funding from the Government of Canada through the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) and $2.6 million from the Province of British Columbia’s Innovative Clean Energy (ICE) Fund. The funding will support advanced product development for a next generation electrochemical platform which will double the commercial system capacity to improve performance, reduce power consumption, and decrease industrial plant capital costs.
Built on decades of electrochemical engineering expertise, NESI develops electrified processing systems that reduce reliance on traditional chemical-intensive methods by using electricity to drive key reactions. This enables localized, lower-carbon production of battery materials and supports greater supply chain independence.
The company’s NORSCAND® platform is designed to produce high-purity lithium hydroxide from lithium chloride and lithium sulphate feedstocks, and also enables the recovery of acid and caustic from existing industrial waste streams. Together, these capabilities help reduce emissions, minimize waste, and lower reagent use across critical minerals and industrial chemical production.
“We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through NRC IRAP as well as the support of the Province of British Columbia through the Ministry of Energy and Climate Solutions. This funding helps accelerate a technology platform we believe is essential to the future of cleaner industrial processing,” said Jeremy Moulson, president and CEO of NESI. “Refining remains one of the biggest constraints in the battery supply chain, and NESI is replacing conventional reagent-intensive processes with electrified technology that lowers emissions, recovers value from waste streams and enables more resilient critical minerals supply chains. This support allows us to advance our platform here in British Columbia while strengthening Canada’s role in the global battery materials economy.”
“The Government of Canada is proud to support innovators like NESI who are developing transformative ways to refine critical minerals,” said the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. “Through NRC IRAP, investing in this technology will strengthen our domestic battery supply chains and position Canada as a leader in the net-zero economy.”
NESI’s technology is aimed at one of the battery sector’s most persistent bottlenecks: refining and processing. While demand for lithium and other battery materials continues to rise, much of the sector still depends on conventional processes that are costly, waste-intensive and difficult to localize. NESI’s electrolysis platform is designed to simplify that pathway by enabling lower-carbon refining, circular chemical recovery and more flexible processing of both virgin and recycled feedstocks.
“Canada’s ability to compete in the global battery economy depends not only on resource development and extraction, but on how those materials are processed,” said the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. “By supporting companies like NESI, we are investing in the next generation of low-carbon technologies that will strengthen domestic supply chains, reduce reliance on foreign processing, create good jobs, and help unlock Canada’s full potential as a trusted supplier of sovereign, secure critical minerals.”
The work builds on more than a decade of support and technical development tied to NESI’s electrochemical platform, including earlier lithium electrolysis R&D, commissioning and operating of an electrochemical lithium refining commercial demonstration plant in Canada in 2017, the opening of a Richmond, B.C.-based Industrial Demonstration Scale (500 tonnes per year Lithium Hydroxide Monohydrate) Electrochemical Lithium Refining Plant, and substantial commercial progress in Europe, South America, and Asia. NESI’s broader growth trajectory includes commercial and demonstration projects linked to partners such as Vulcan Energy and Lifthium Energy, alongside ongoing work to turn industrial byproducts such as sodium sulphate into valuable inputs including sulphuric acid and caustic soda.
NESI was established as a standalone company in 2022 out of NORAM’s electrochemical division, but its roots in industrial electrochemistry go back decades. Today, the company operates across Canada and Europe and is focused on scaling technologies that support lithium refining, battery recycling, industrial circularity and broader materials processing applications.
About NESI
NORAM Electrolysis Systems Inc. (NESI) is a Vancouver-based clean technology company advancing industrial electrochemical processing for critical minerals and industrial chemicals. Built on decades of electrochemical engineering expertise, NESI develops proprietary electrified process technologies that help reduce emissions, waste and dependence on conventional reagents. Its NORSCAND® platform enables high-purity lithium processing, chemical recovery from waste streams and broader next-generation materials processing applications. NESI operates in Canada and Europe and supports customers working to build cleaner, more resilient supply chains. For more information visit nesi.tech.
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