LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas-based group called "Startup Junkie" is no stranger to helping entrepreneurs prepare for the future.
The organization works to empower innovators and aims to make entrepreneurship accessible to everyone. While they're used to helping others, this time around they have been assisting small businesses in tapping into a big industry.
"We want to make sure that we're providing awareness and providing all the opportunities for the people in the community," said Matthew Ward, a Senior Executive Consultant at Startup Junkie.
The Fayetteville-based company is one of fourteen that were chosen for the US Small Business Administration's regional innovation cluster.
With that help, SBA officials said that Startup Junkie will "support small businesses in leveraging lithium for the clean energy and electric vehicle transition across Northeast Texas, Southern Arkansas, Northern Louisiana, and West Mississippi."
"The overall goal for us is to provide opportunities for people, especially along the lithium supply chain. This is a really great area to be in and bringing that entrepreneurial culture to South Arkansas," Ward said.
The announcement on Tuesday came just a week after the Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment (ADEE) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released a new study outlining the possible discovery of somewhere between five and 19 million tons of lithium located in an area called the Smackover Formation.
While lithium production is nothing new for major companies like ExxonMobil and Albemarle, Ward said entrepreneurs and small businesses can also have a seat at the same table.
"Are the number of small businesses within the cluster growing? Is their revenue growing? Are they getting access to federal funding opportunities to help fund their commercialization efforts," Ward described. "We want to provide those opportunities to educate, but then also see where they could also potentially get a piece of the pie outside of just mineral rights."
Lithium is also known as white gold, and once extracted it can be used in air treatment, batteries, electric vehicles, or even equipment for soldiers on the battlefield.
USGS hydrologist Katherine J. Knierim explained the importance of the metal.
"Lithium has been, and still is, seen as a strategic mineral commodity that could contribute toward US energy independence," she added.
A report on ScienceDirect states that the United States was once the leading producer of lithium.
As the country looks to find new ways of maximizing lithium production, companies like Startup Junkie are looking to provide opportunities for all.
"We think this could be a great way to have sort of mind share from different people across different walks of life, and be able to have sort of that mentality of rising tides brings up all ships," Ward explained.