Summit Lithium Technologies exploring M&A deal, possibly to foreign buyer

Calgary-based lithium extraction company Summit Lithium Technologies is evaluating strategic options that could result in a sale to a foreign buyer.

Summit Lithium CEO Amanda Hall revealed that her company was courting buyers in an online policy briefing hosted by the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO) on Tuesday. The event featured a conversation between Hall and Dominion Dynamics CEO Eliot Pence that was part of a broader discussion on how the 2026 federal budget will affect entrepreneurs.

“We want a good fit to see our developments and capabilities get accelerated into commercial lithium projects.”
Joe Arencibia
Summit Lithium Technologies

When NACO CEO and moderator Claudio Rojas asked where Hall’s business was heading in the next five years, she said Summit Lithium is looking at mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and that it’s “completing the journey.”

“As we’re in M&A, all of the buyers are international, but they like that we have a Canadian presence and they want to keep us here just under a new banner,” Hall said, adding that she thinks it’s exciting to continue to grow a business under a different banner in Canada from Calgary.

When reached for more information, Summit Lithium president and COO Joe Arencibia told BetaKit in an email that Hall was speaking in shorthand about a broader process and that the company is looking at several options, including strategic partnership opportunities, grants, or M&A.

“Summit has gotten to the point of having well-developed technology that’s ready to move to commercial scale, and traditionally the best way to do this is with strategic/industrial partners versus more venture capital,” Arencibia wrote. “So, Summit is looking at several options, including M&A.”

Arencibia did not provide specifics, other than to say that Summit Lithium is talking to established industry partners to collaborate on large-scale, revenue-generating commercialization projects, as well as government agencies in Canada and the United States for specific funding programs that support critical metals and energy transition.

On the sale side, Arencibia confirmed the interested parties are outside of Canada but that Summit Lithium intends to keep its footprint in the country. He added that the company is looking “beyond dollars” as it searches for a partner.

“We want a good fit to see our developments and capabilities get accelerated into commercial lithium projects,” Arencibia said. He also noted Summit Lithium is making “great progress” on the process, and while the response has been enthusiastic, “these things take time.”

Founded in 2018, Summit Lithium (formerly known as Summit Nanotech) designed a patented system to isolate and extract lithium, a high-demand metal used in rechargeable batteries, more sustainably and efficiently with nanotechnology. In 2025, the company made the Global Cleantech 100 list, which showcases private cleantech companies poised to make a substantial impact on the market in the next five to 10 years, and was recognized in this year’s issue of BetaKit Most Ambitious.

The company has raised more than $100 million CAD in its lifetime, most recently a $25.5-million USD ($36.3-million CAD) round in March 2025 to help it transition from demonstration to commercialization plants. In the NACO briefing, Hall noted her company “won’t be raising another round” and that, as she’s “closing the circle,” Summit Lithium’s angel investors are coming back to reinvest in the company.

“The parties who started my company with me, that were linking arms with me at the beginning and supporting me, and teaching me how to run a business, and how to grow and scale a company; they’re the ones standing with me at the finish line,” Hall said. “That’s really amazing.”

Arencibia clarified that, while it’s too soon to say, Hall “has no plans to go anywhere.”

Feature image courtesy Summit Lithium Technologies.