EnBW and partner produce lithium from geothermal water in Germany
Utility and unit of chemicals firm HELM after joint demonstration project plan to top into sustainable source to meet European demand for electromobility and energy storage
German utility EnBW and a partner in the chemicals industry have produced lithium carbonate from geothermal water that can be used to produce batteries for electromobility or energy storage.
The companies as part of a joint demonstration project extracted a lithium chloride solution from the thermal water of EnBW’s Bruchsal geothermal power plant in southwestern Germany, using direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology.
Leverton HELM, a unit of German chemicals firm HELM, then converted and refined this solution at a plant in Basingstoke, UK, into lithium carbonate with a purity of above 99.5%.
“We need energy storage technologies for the energy transition to succeed. Lithium plays a decisive role in the expansion of electromobility and renewable energies,” said Thomas Kölbel, expert for research and development at EnBW.
“Together with LevertonHELM, we want to tap into this resource and create a sustainable source of lithium to meet the growing demand in Germany and Europe.”
The site of the Bruchsal geothermal plant lies in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley, a region of extinct volcanoes that according to the German geothermal federation has ideal conditions for geothermal energy production.
Other companies are also vying for the lithium resources in the region linked to geothermal energy generation.
Start-up Vulcan has already closed a deal to produce lithium there to supply its European battery cell factories.
In the US, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the energy group owned by investment tycoon Warren Buffett, has linked with oil giant Occidental to produce lithium via the DLE technology from geothermal power plants in California’s Imperial Valley.
LevertonHELM commercial director Bart Vanden Bossche stressed the need for local production in Europe.
“Projects like this are essential for the development of European resources and establishing a local production footprint of critical raw materials that will support the European Union’s energy transition,” he said.
“The combination of EnBW’s experience in DLE and geothermal power generation and LevertonHELM’s lithium processing expertise is a strong asset to accelerate progress in this field.”
The water extracted at the Bruchsal geothermal power plant has a “remarkably high lithium content”, EnBW project manager research and development, Laura Herrmann, added.
“This opens up a great opportunity for us to extract lithium as a valuable by-product of these plants regionally using environmentally friendly methods.”
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