Lithium is a critical metal of the energy transition. However, its mining technology has not changed for decades. The current evaporative method has a low recovery rate of around 40% to 60% and is criticized for its environmental impact. To meet lithium demand sustainably, many companies are jumping to a new technology – direct lithium extraction or DLE – to efficiently extract lithium. If successfully commercialized, we expect the supply of lithium from evaporation and DLE technology will be comparable by 2030.