Emilie Bodoin's Pure Lithium Develops Revolutionary Battery Technology Challenging Industry Standards

Emilie Bodoin, founder and CEO of Pure Lithium, has been recognized by Fastmarkets as Trailblazing Woman of the Year in June, while her company won the 2025 Green Chemistry Challenge Award in August for its innovative Brine to Battery technology. These accolades add to a growing list of industry recognition that includes a Reuters Global Energy Transition award and a Fastmarkets Voltas award for R&D Achievement.

Bodoin's journey began with a fundamental question in 2012: why does the world continue using outdated, limited, and sometimes dangerous batteries when new technologies demand better energy storage solutions? This puzzle led her to establish Pure Lithium in 2020 with a mission to develop not just a scientific breakthrough but a practical, affordable battery technology. Her background proved invaluable—scientific experience from roles at Argonne National Laboratory and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority combined with financial expertise gained from previous finance roles in New York.

Under Bodoin's leadership, Pure Lithium developed a completely new battery based on lithium metal and vanadium that outperforms globally popular lithium-ion batteries in both cost and performance. The company built an intellectual property portfolio exceeding 120 patents and applications, with Bodoin personally holding six patents related to the battery technology and materials. The patented Brine to Battery technology represents a significant advancement by completely eliminating dependence on complex global supply chains for battery materials, thereby dramatically reducing carbon emissions associated with extensive shipping.

What sets Pure Lithium apart is the scale of its ambition—to completely replace the world's most widely used energy storage technology. Bodoin has successfully transitioned the company from initial research to the cusp of commercial production, having perfected and extensively tested the technology in Boston before moving into prototyping at new facilities in Chicago. As a female scientist and CEO in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Bodoin acknowledges the challenges but emphasizes how it has shaped her approach to fundraising, innovation, and leadership.

Bodoin's motivation extends beyond scientific achievement to creating technology that improves lives, believing that clean, accessible energy can foster equality and reshape economies. She actively uses her platform to encourage more women to pursue roles in science, innovation, and business, sharing her story as both a patent-holding scientist and company founder to inspire others to break barriers and achieve extraordinary things.