Geothermal energy could transform the way lithium is sourced

The southwest of England is famed for its dramatic coastline, verdant countryside and fresh seafood. If all goes to plan, another string could be added to the region’s bow over the next few years: lithium extraction.

In the county of Cornwall, efforts are underway to tap into the area’s natural resources and establish an industry which could, one day, produce both renewable energy and establish a local source of lithium.

Alongside its use in cell phones, computers, tablets and a host of other gadgets synonymous with modern life, lithium is crucial to electric vehicles and battery storage, two technologies with a big role to play in the planet’s shift to a low and zero emission future.

Examples of how this nascent sector could progress over the next few years include Geothermal Engineering Ltd, a company based near the Cornish town of Redruth specializing in the development and operation of geothermal projects.

Alongside its planned renewable energy operations, GEL is also working on a trial project centered around the extraction of lithium from geothermal waters. It’s a collaboration with another company, Cornish Lithium, via a joint venture dubbed GeoCubed.

“The aim is to demonstrate that lithium hydroxide, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, can be produced in Cornwall from naturally occurring geothermal water with a net zero carbon footprint,” GEL says.

The project in Cornwall is focused on direct lithium extraction, or DLE. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the technologies behind DLE “can be broadly grouped into three main categories: adsorption using porous materials that enable lithium bonding, ion exchange, and solvent extraction.”

While there is excitement about its potential, the NREL cautions it “remains a challenging task” to scale up the above methods to what it calls “full production capability.”

“For example, developing a solid material that bonds with just lithium is a huge challenge in geothermal brine that contains many minerals and metals,” it says.

Projects such as the one in Cornwall come at a time when concerns around sustainability and ESG are mounting. The security of global supply chains is another issue, especially when the vast majority of lithium production is currently dominated by countries including Chile, China, Australia and Argentina.

Against this backdrop, commercializing less intensive, more local and easily accessible ways of sourcing lithium could be hugely important going forward.

Major economies and automotive manufacturers are also laying out plans to increase the number of electric vehicles on our roads. Simultaneously, the push to expand renewable energy capacity shows no sign of letting up.

Julia Poliscanova is senior director for e-mobility at Transport & Environment, a campaign group headquartered in Brussels. Speaking to CNBC, she described lithium…