LibertyStream Announces Corporate Update: 2025 Milestones Achieved, 2026 Outlook, and Leadership Addition

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. (TSXV: LIB | OTCQB: VLTLF | FSE: I2D) (“LibertyStream” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce an operations update from its field activities in the Permian Basin, Texas, and to welcome Mr. Jack Crancer to its management team. Building on the significant milestones achieved in 2025 and strengthened by key leadership additions, LibertyStream aims to leverage its strategic position to become the first company in North America to advance direct lithium extraction from oilfield brine to commercial operations in 2026.

“Our team at LibertyStream has delivered significant milestones in 2025, culminating in the successful production of lithium carbonate from our field operations in Texas. With this achievement, we are firmly advancing toward expansion across critical U.S. oilfields, including the Permian Basin in Texas and the Bakken in North Dakota,” said Alex Wylie, President & CEO of LibertyStream. “We are also extremely pleased to welcome Mr. Jack Crancer to the management team and look forward to building on this success in 2026 as LibertyStream transitions to commercial production over the next 12 months.”

Major 2025 Milestones

Over the past 12 months, LibertyStream’s Texas field operations have advanced significantly with the commissioning of its proprietary Generation 5 Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) unit. This system is designed to process up to 10,000 barrels of oilfield brine per day into a lithium chloride eluate. Since February 2025, LibertyStream has successfully processed more than 350,000 barrels of brine and completed over 2,500 real-time validation tests, demonstrating the robustness and reliability of its technology.

In December 2025, LibertyStream commissioned its lithium carbonate refining unit (the “Refining Unit”) and commenced production of lithium carbonate, marking a pivotal milestone in the Company’s transition toward commercial operations.

A summary of the Company's 2025 Major Milestones is as follows:

Corporate Milestones

• 2025 – Advanced to end-to-end brine to lithium carbonate production through a capital-disciplined funding approach, combining state-backed grants and promissory note financing to advance on-site refining unit commissioning, followed by a LIFE offering to support scale-up and commercialization.
• August 2025 – Closed a $3.5 million Promissory Note Financing and US$700,000 Grant backed by the State of North Dakota to purchase the Refining Unit.
• December 2025 - Closed a $10 million non-brokered private LIFE Offering. Strong investor demand enabled LibertyStream to prioritize participants who share the Company’s long-term execution strategy and sector focus. The financing was placed with a select group of existing investors and several new strategic, supportive long-term investors aligned with LibertyStream’s long-term execution strategy and growth trajectory.

Operational Milestones

• February 2025 – Commissioned the Generation 5 Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Field Unit, achieving an initial daily throughput of 11,573 barrels of oilfield brine.
• March 2025 – Achieved 99% lithium extraction rates from the Generation 5 Unit.
• March 2025 – Secured a $2.0 million grant backed by the State of North Dakota to support field trials in the region.
• July 2025 – Announced Successful DLE Field trial in North Dakota.
• September 2025 – Reached a major field operations milestone, processing over 250,000 barrels of brine from the Generation 5 Unit
• October 2025 – Appointed former Albemarle veteran Tim Frost, Advisor Strategic Alliances. Mr. Frost previously led Albemarle’s Americas and European Sales Team, overseeing more than US$800 million in annual revenue.
• November 2025 – Signed the Company’s first Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Packet Digital, a North Dakota engineering firm specializing in battery and power system development for autonomous systems, with emphasis on unmanned aerial systems for U.S. military customers.
• December 2025 – Announced first Lithium Carbonate Production from its field operations in Texas

2026 Outlook

As LibertyStream enters 2026, the management team is focused on transitioning the company to commercial operations over the next year. The Company’s key objective include:

• Scale-up production at its existing Refining Unit to deliver samples that meet technical specifications for future customers, with the goal of commencing the signing of long-term off-take agreements.
• Secure a supply agreement with a major operator in Texas or North Dakota to provide oilfield brine for LibertyStream’s commercial lithium carbonate production.
• Expand and strengthen the management team through strategic hires that enhance the Company’s technical expertise, operational capacity, and execution capabilities.

LibertyStream Management Addition

The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jack Crancer as Vice President, Finance. Mr. Crancer brings over 14 years of experience in the U.S. capital markets, most recently serving as Executive Director, Investment Banking at Texas Capital in Houston, Texas. Prior to his tenure at Texas Capital, Mr. Crancer held roles at Stifel Nicolaus and Credit Suisse.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Crancer worked with El Paso Corporation/Kinder Morgan and Mustang Engineering, gaining valuable experience in the energy and infrastructure sectors. He holds an MBA from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Restricted Share Unit and Performance Share Unit Grant

The Company’s board of directors has approved the granting to certain employees, consultants, senior management and directors 6,500,000 restricted share units (“RSUs”). The RSUs are to vest quarterly over a twelve-month period commencing December 18, 2025. The board of directors has also approved the granting of 6,500,000 performance share units (“PSUs”) to senior management and directors. The PSUs are to vest based on the following performance criteria having been met: as to 50% upon the Company successfully signing its first off-take agreement, and as to the remaining 50% upon the announcement of an agreement with a major operator in Texas or North Dakota to supply oilfield brine for LibertyStream’s commercial lithium carbonate production.

All RSUs and PSUs are approved to be granted pursuant to the Company’s Omnibus Security Based Incentive Plan and are subject to the terms of the applicable grant agreements and the requirements of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners

LibertyStream is a lithium development and technology company aiming to be one of North America’s first commercial producers of lithium carbonate from oilfield brine. Our strategy is to generate value for shareholders by leveraging management’s hydrocarbon experience to deploy our proprietary DLE technology directly into existing oil and gas infrastructure, thereby reducing capital costs, lowering risks and supporting the world’s clean energy transition. We are committed to operating efficiently and with transparency across all areas of the business staying sharply focused on creating long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Investors and/or other interested parties may sign up for updates about the Company’s continued progress on its website: https://LibertyStream.com/.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release includes certain “forward-looking statements” and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws (collectively referred to herein as “forward-looking information”). When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target”, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “will”, “would”, “could”, “schedule” and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking information. Statements, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information and include, without limitation, the Company’s expectations to replicate the current template across high-volume U.S. basins and related expectations in respect of expansion in Texas and North Dakota; the de-risking scalability of the Company’s Refining Unit coupled with its DLE technology; management’s expectations relating to the continued results from the Refining Unit and of its ability to continue to produce lithium carbonate therefrom; the ability of the results from pre-commercial operations to date to create meaningful shareholder value and the Company’s ability to secure long-term commercial contracts; anticipated processing capacity of the Refining Unit; the next critical stage of operations for the Company; the Company’s near-term focus of producing consistent lithium carbonate; the Company’s intended near-term strategy and next steps to achieve such strategy; the Company’s intention to initiate offtake discussions with partners; the anticipated steps and timing related to launching full-scale operations in 2026 with the goal of supplying commercial volumes by 2027; the Company’s intention to commence selling all lithium carbonate produced into the spot market in 2026; the anticipated use of proceeds received from recent grant funding and option and warrant exercises to support the advancement of the Company towards commercial-scale lithium carbonate production; and the benefits to the Company’s proprietary DLE technology including the anticipated reduction of capital costs associated with lithium carbonate extraction from oilfield brine by the use of existing oil and gas infrastructure and the support of clean energy transition efforts caused by the deploy of the Company’s proprietary DLE technology. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this news release, the Company has made numerous assumptions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies and may prove to be incorrect. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein including the risk that management’s production estimates relating to the Refining Unit turn out to be incorrect and that the timing of launching full-scale operations may be delayed or not occur at all; the risk that the Company is not able to secure appropriate partnerships, customers, and offtake agreements on terms acceptable to the Company or at all; the risk that the Company cannot achieve full commercial-scale operations on the timeline currently anticipated or at all; the risk that the Refining Unit and related DLE technology cannot be scaled on a commercial basis as currently anticipated by the Company or at all; the risk that the anticipated near-term strategy may not be executed as currently anticipated; and, generally, those known risk factors outlined in the Company’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the period ended December 31, 2024 and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for the three and six months ended June 30, 2025. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251218321637/en/

For Investor Relations inquiries or further information, please contact:



Alex Wylie, President & CEO

T: +1.972.626.1645

E: info@libertystream.com



Or



Bill McClain, Investor Relations

T: +1.604.773.9423

E: info@libertystream.com

Source: LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc.