Lithium well a ‘gamechanger’ for energy transition in Alberta | Globalnews.ca: A rig in Alberta’s historic Leduc oilfield isn’t drilling for oil, but lithium.

In June, Imperial Oil Ltd. announced it had signed a deal to invest $6.35 million in E3 Lithium, a Calgary-based junior resource company that has developed a technology to extract the naturally occurring lithium — a light metal that is a key component in the batteries used in electric vehicles — from oilfield brines.

When it comes to evolving Alberta’s economy, there is a big focus on new industries like Lithium. The company says it really is the perfect compliment to the oil and gas industry.

Robin Boschman, E3 Lithium director of external relations, said this turnover is an easy transition.

“We’ll be able to reuse and repurpose a lot of the oil and gas infrastructure. And when we get to commercial operations, we anticipate creating a lot of long-term stable jobs in a new economy for Alberta and in Canada.”