The utility company EnBW took over operational control of the Bruchsal geothermal power plant, the first geothermal power plant in the state of Baden-Württemberg, in 2012. EnBW has since been very active in research efforts to extract lithium from geothermal fluids, with a pilot project announced in 2021 in partnership with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. It has also been part of the UnLimited project with several partner organizations.
Using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, EnBW extracted a lithium chloride solution from the thermal water of the geothermal power plant in Bruchsal. LevertonHELM, a wholly owned subsidiary of the German HELM AG, converted and refined this solution in its plants in Basingstoke, Great Britain.
Due to its high quality, the lithium salt obtained in this way can be used directly to manufacture cathode materials for batteries.
“For the energy transition to succeed, we need energy storage technologies. Lithium plays a crucial role in the expansion of electromobility and renewable energies. Together with LevertonHELM, we want to exploit this resource and create a sustainable source of lithium that meets the growing demand in Germany and Europe,” said Dr. Thomas Kölbel, research and development expert at the EnBW Group.
“Projects like this are crucial to unlocking European resources and building up local production of key raw materials that will support the energy transition in the European Union. The combination of EnBW’s experience in DLE and geothermal power generation and LevertonHELM’s expertise in lithium processing is a strong asset to accelerate progress in this area,” added art Vanden Bossche, Commercial Director at LevertonHELM.
Bruchsal lies within the Upper Rhine Graben, a region which continues to attract lots of interest both for geothermal energy development and the extraction of lithium from geothermal brine.
