Hoping High with Lithium Extraction in Lower Saxony for Greener Electric Vehicles
Scientists express positive outlook for lithium extraction in Lower Saxony region - Researchers express positivity regarding lithium extraction in Lower Saxony.
Total optimism shrouds the team of researchers overseeing a pioneering project extracting lithium for electric vehicle batteries in the Lüneburg Heath. For three weeks till the end of May, they're pumping 150°C hot water from a depth of 3,800 meters through an extraction facility, aiming to curb environmentally damaging emissions.
"Lithium extraction in Lower Saxony could have minimal ecological footprints," noted André Stechern, the project leader of the "Li+Fluids" research project, during a recent site visit at the Horstberg borehole in Eimke (Uelzen district). Stechern is confident that dependence on supply chains would decrease. Till now, the industry has solely relied on imports from Australia, Chile, and China, where the material is primarily extracted from mines or large salt lakes.
An Abandoned Gas Well Yields a Valuable Resource
The Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), which is managing the research project and is utilizing an abandoned, unsuccessful gas drilling site for the extraction, anticipates extracting at least 70% of the lithium with a high concentration of 190 milligrams per liter. The BGR belongs to the Federal Ministry of Economics and is financially supporting the project.
"I'm torn between extracting more lithium in a short time or allowing longer contact with an ion sieve," Stechern expressed, explaining that several methods are being explored. "An aluminum-based sieve seems most promising," he added.
The total quantity that could potentially be extracted in Germany may not be sufficient to meet the increasing demand, according to the BGR. In conjunction with recycling, it could, however, considerably lessen dependence on imports.
Internationally, lithium is gaining importance, with the BGR expecting that the demand could surpass the predicted global total production by a factor of three by 2030 due to the increasing demand for lithium batteries in e-mobility. The potential for extraction in the North German Basin stretching from the Ems to Rostock is encouraging.
A Sneak Peek at the German Lithium Scene
Though specifics about Lower Saxony are scarce, there are ongoing efforts to find lithium deposits in other regions of Germany. For instance, the Auersberg & Gottesberg Project has discovered lithium grades reaching up to 393ppm Li in another part of Germany, albeit not directly associated with Lower Saxony.
Meanwhile, Germany is aggressively pursuing advancements in battery technology, including alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Altech Batteries Ltd. is commercializing the CERENERGY(R) battery, a lithium-free innovation designed for grid storage solutions. The technology takes advantage of table salt, with the aim to diminish dependency on critical metals like lithium.
The Potential Impact
If lithium extraction takes place in Lower Saxony, it could help reduce dependence on lithium imports, providing a domestic source of lithium for electric vehicle batteries. However, due to the recent focus on lithium-free battery technologies in Germany, there's a growing emphasis on developing alternatives rather than upscaling lithium extraction.
Challenges and Opportunities
- Embracing Alternatives: The development of lithium-free batteries like the CERENERGY(R) technology could significantly lessen the need for lithium, potentially altering the course of lithium extraction in Germany.
- Import Reduction: If lithium extraction becomes viable in Lower Saxony, it could diminish import dependence, but the impact would hinge on the scale of extraction and the demand for lithium in the European market.
- Achieving Energy Transition Goals: Germany's energy transition strategy, which aims to bolster energy storage capacity, could be aided by either lithium extraction or the adoption of alternative battery technologies.
- The research project in Lower Saxony, focusing on lithium extraction for electric vehicle batteries, could potentially implement an environmental-science approach to minimize ecological footprints in the lithium extraction process.
- In the pursuit of energy transition goals, the implementation of alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, such as the CERENERGY® technology, could significantly impact the employment policy by creating new opportunities in the tech and science sectors, as Germany advances in battery technology research and development.
