[ferro-alloys.com]Vulcan Energy Resources has successful produced lithium carbonate from the geothermal brine lithium resource at its Zero Carbon lithium project in Germany's Upper Rhine Valley during a series of successful bench-scale direct lithium extraction tests.

The company said August 3 that two pre-selected DLE adsorbents, similar to types already used at commercial brines elsewhere in the world, were tested and both resulted in lithium recovery rate of over 90%, with the result to be used in the upcoming prefeasibility study.

Vulcan said the DLE process used would result in reduced water use and a smaller environmental footprint than traditional evaporative methods used in South America.

The company plans to use renewable power and heat from the geothermal brine, giving it the lowest CO2-equivalent footprint of any lithium hydroxide supplier for electric vehicles.

Vulcan is aiming to produce a battery-quality lithium hydroxide chemical product with a net-zero carbon footprint from its combined geothermal and lithium resource, becoming the world's first zero-carbon lithium producer.

The project should assist the EU in moving away from reliance on imports with a high carbon and water footprint.

Vulcan managing director Francis Wedin said the test results were another milestone toward the goal of producing zero-carbon lithium hydroxide for the European EV markets, with the company already working on further optimizing the performance of the lithium extraction.

The company was continuing other test work, including pressure and brine chemistry.

"We are successfully proving that geothermal brines in Europe can be both a major source of lithium hydroxide for batteries, as well as providing the renewable energy to power the extraction process," Wedin said.

Vulcan in May received EU-backing for the project from European Battery Alliance facilitator EIT InnoEnergy to accelerate the launch of the project, with another direct investment from the company announced in early July.

(S&P Global Platts)

• [Editor:王可]