Register for the Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit – October 28-29, 2025 – Arkansas
This Event Reminder is Sponsored By:
Save the date: The Arkansas Lithium Innovation Hub has announced that the second Arkansas Lithium Innovation Summit will be held Oct. 28-29 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
The summit is Arkansas’ premier gathering for leaders advancing the lithium industry — uniting voices from industry, academia, government and the investment community to accelerate innovation and economic growth tied to lithium production in Arkansas.
The inaugural summit, which took place in February 2024, marked a significant milestone for the state’s nascent lithium industry.
The summit drew more than 700 attendees, including energy sector executives, lawmakers, education leaders, infrastructure leaders, industry consultants, analysts, landowners and representatives from ancillary businesses.
The group discussed the state’s potential to become a national leader in lithium production.
What’s next: Details on speakers, panels and registration are expected later this year. Organizers are hopeful that this year’s summit will be just as big — if not bigger — than in 2024.
Get involved: The hub is seeking event sponsors, you can contact organizers at arkansaslithiumsummit@gmail.com.
The bottom line: With interest in domestic lithium production rising, the summit has quickly become a key forum for shaping Arkansas’ role in the global energy transition.
We’ll be there! Lithium Link plans full coverage of the summit, and will be there to talk to key industry players and share insights. We’re ready to go!
Previously: Get our executive summary of last year’s summit, which included speakers like Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Patrick Howarth, lithium global business manager for Exxon Mobil Corp. of Houston.
Interview: Jeff Amerine & Jeff Standridge On the Entrepreneurial Opportunities Around Lithium
When it comes to innovation and entrepreneurship in Arkansas, you’d be hard-pressed to find two more connected leaders than Jeff Amerine and Jeff Standridge, the driving partners behind the new Lithium Regional Innovation Cluster.
The LRIC is a federal Small Business Administration-backed initiative that’s laying the groundwork for a generational energy transformation rooted in the lithium-rich Smackover Formation of South Arkansas.
With the rise of electric vehicles and national security concerns around critical minerals, the LRIC is positioning Arkansas at the forefront of the domestic lithium value chain — an effort that could one day supply up to 15% of U.S. lithium needs. While it won’t happen overnight, Amerine and Standridge have big expectations for the opportunity Arkansas has to create a transformative industry in South Arkansas.
“You know, sometimes people will look at this and they’ll say, ‘Well, it’s another extraction business. It’s going to be like Fayetteville Shale. It’ll be short term,’” said Amerine, whose Startup Junkie leads the LRIC. “We’re not looking for that. We’re looking for this to be a multigenerational thing that can touch every aspect of the economy in Arkansas.”
How it works: LRIC has already convened 53 ventures — aiming for 100 by year’s end — spanning advanced manufacturing, chemical processing and workforce services. The goal is to connect those ventures to industry needs and major players including ExxonMobil, Standard Lithium Ltd. and Albemarle Corp., as well as other startups and universities.
In short, the LRIC acts as a convener and connector, offering:
Regular collaboration forums
21+ subject matter experts
Access to capital and commercialization support
Workforce initiatives like Lithium Works
The big picture: Amerine and Standridge stress the need for a resilient, U.S.-based supply chain in the face of foreign dominance — especially China — in lithium processing.
“We cannot afford to be held hostage across any of these critical minerals if geopolitical tensions continue to grow,” Amerine said.
What’s next: LRIC is focused on building momentum — more companies, more collaboration and more training. Measurable outcomes like relocations and commercial breakthroughs are expected within the next few years. Still, the partners want Arkansans to understand that building a new industry will take time and patience. But it will be worth it:
“Look at the timber industry, which has predominantly been in South Arkansas, right? I mean, that goes back — it predates some of the towns in South Arkansas,” Standridge said. “So this is that long play as well on the lithium side — it’s maybe the new timber industry, so to speak, for that part of our state. And so expect it to be here, but expect it to take some time to develop to its full capability.”
