Italian energy major Eni agreed to pay $225 million for a 25% stake in the Black Giant lithium project in Chile, owned by U.S. startup EnergyX. The deal grants Eni rights to up to a quarter of future output from the asset, which the company intends to feed a large-scale battery plant under development in southern Italy. Lithium demand is projected to surge as electric-vehicle adoption accelerates, and Eni has been actively shifting earnings away from hydrocarbons toward low-carbon technologies.

The investment deepens a relationship that began three-and-a-half years ago when Eni's venture arm participated in a funding round for the Austin-based startup led by General Motors. That early bet positioned Eni inside a direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology portfolio that EnergyX claims can cut production time from months to days and reduce water usage — critical advantages in Chile's arid Atacama region where the project sits.

For Eni, the transaction secures a foothold in the critical-minerals supply chain at a time when Western governments are incentivizing domestic battery production and reducing reliance on Chinese processing capacity. The Black Giant stake also provides a potential hedge against oil-price volatility by linking upstream exposure to the energy-transition commodity cycle.

The deal signals that European oil majors are willing to deploy meaningful capital into early-stage mining ventures rather than waiting for offtake agreements. If EnergyX's DLE technology proves commercial at scale, Eni gains low-cost, geographically diversified lithium; if it falters, the $225 million write-off is manageable for a company with a €90 billion market cap. Either way, the move pressures peers to accelerate their own critical-minerals strategies or risk ceding supply-chain control to dedicated mining houses and Chinese refiners.