Extracting Lithium For Cleaner Water and to Meet Growing Lithium Demands with Forager Station's Patrick Ho

In this Interview, we meet Patrick Ho who is the Founder of Forager Station, a Clean Energy Technology Startup based in Frederick, Maryland. Forager Station is focused on developing innovative electrochemical refining devices to extract lithium from waste brine sources, aiming to provide a freshwater-free method for lithium production.

ONE-LINER:

"We're on a mission to create freshwater-free lithium from domestic U.S. sources, transforming waste into a valuable resource."

Pitch/Reverse Pitch:

Don’t miss Patrick’s Pitch for Forager Station, which you can find on the video from [2:02] to [2:16].

Discussion:

After the pitch, we discuss:

• The global lithium shortage and how Forager Station’s technology addresses the lithium-water dilemma by extracting lithium from waste brine without using freshwater.
• The potential impact of Forager Station’s technology on U.S. lithium production, with the ability to unlock millions of tons of lithium from previously untapped sources.
• The challenges of scaling up the technology and the importance of early-stage funding to build a minimum viable product (MVP) for pilot customers.

Insights:

At [15:31], Patrick discusses his experience with individual investors and the importance of making connections at events like WaterPitch to move the technology forward.

Advice:

At [23:31], Patrick advises other startup founders to "listen to your customers," emphasizing the importance of focusing on real market needs rather than just popular trends.