Posted on 12 Apr 2024
Australia-listed Vulcan Energy Resources said Thursday it has started producing the first lithium chloride at its lithium extraction optimisation plant (LEOP) in Landau, Germany.
The company claims this was the first time lithium chemicals were domestically produced from a locally sourced raw material at this scale in Europe, for Europe. Vulcan extracts lithium from geothermal brines in the Upper Rhine Valley, Kallanish notes.
The extraction plant is an operational training and product qualification testing facility to facilitate operational readiness for when Vulcan’s Phase 1 Zero Carbon Lithium commercial project is completed. The LEOP’s adsorption-type direct lithium extraction (A-DLE) unit consistently showcased over 90% lithium extraction efficiency, in line with lab and pilot plant results from over three years of in-house piloting, the company says.
“This significant milestone marks a pivotal moment in Vulcan’s journey towards revolutionising domestic lithium raw material supply for Europe’s battery industry,” adds Vulcan Energy chief executive Cris Moreno. “It is encouraging to see LEOP deliver extraction efficiency in line with our expectations.”
Once Phase 1 commercial production is reached, the company will produce 24,000 tonnes/year of lithium hydroxide, supplying over 500,000 EVs. It has already inked offtake agreements with automakers such as Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault.
Vulcan will transport the lithium chloride to Höchst Industrial Park Frankfurt, where the company is currently completing its central lithium electrolysis optimisation plant (CLEOP). From mid-2024, the conversion plant will convert the lithium chloride into battery-grade lithium hydroxide, in a pre-commercial scale.
Early this year, the company said its project had advanced to the “under appraisal” stage for a debt financing of up to €500 million ($541.5m) from the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Also on Thursday, European Metals announced the successful lab production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide with ore samples from its Cinovec project in the Czech Republic. (See related story)
Source:Kallanish
