The municipality of Rheinmünster has given Deutsche Erdwärme GmbH and Vulkan Energie Ressourcen GmbH a refusal to search for geothermal energy and lithium.
In the public council meeting on Monday evening, the committee had to deal with two different applicants and two procedural motions that had been received by the Freiburg Regional Council. Geothermal energy, heat from the depths, but also lithium are of great importance for the energy transition. But it is precisely in the region where gravel mining was once important that these raw materials, which are necessary for the required CO2 neutrality, should now be searched for. Deutsche Erdwärme GmbH, headquartered in Karlsruhe, had a limited license until October 31, 2021 to explore geothermal energy, brine and lithium in the "Römerbad" field, the entire region between Rheinmünster and Bühl in the south to Au am Rhein and Spessart in the north. The application for an extension of the permit for a further three years has now been submitted. The councilors would have liked to ask questions to a company representative, but no one was there.
This is different in the case of Vulkan Energie Ressourcen GmbH, also based in Karlsruhe. For more than an hour, managing director and geologist Horst Kreuter answered questions and campaigned to give the company the chance and the opportunity to have the subsoil investigated for the Rheinmünster district. The entire "Ortenau II" area, in which Vulkan Energie would like to seismically explore the subsurface for the subsequent extraction of lithium, extends from Rheinmünster to Kehl, from Bühl to Appenweier. Lichtenau citizens have already turned against the planned project in an open letter.
Only two locations in the world - California and the Upper Rhine Rift
"Your decision is of great importance," emphasized Horst Kreuter at the end of his remarks, but in fact the regional mountain directorate of the Freiburg Regional Council, as the competent authority of the municipality, only gave the municipality the opportunity to submit a statement during the procedure. As Kreuter informed, his company wants to produce CO2-free lithium in the Upper Rhine Graben and at the same time produce electricity and heat.
According to studies by the Australian parent company, there are only two locations in the world where the conditions exist to produce CO2-free lithium - in California and in the Upper Rhine Rift. The permeability of the subsoil and the thermal water warming up to 180 degrees Celsius were the best prerequisites, according to Kreuter.
But before the hot water is pumped up through an injection well, cooled there to 65 degrees and the lithium is drawn in an energetic process via electrolysis, preliminary investigations should take place. For this purpose, vibration vehicles are supposed to send sound waves into the subsoil, with the aid of which reflections are used to transmit a three-dimensional image of the layers in the depths.
Concerns about earth moving and water pollution
While the Greens also saw the concerns and fears expressed in the committee, they were more positive about exploring the underground.
However, fears about the dangers such as seismic activities during similar investigations and drilling in the region, the damage to the drinking water layers and the question of liability in the event of damage predominated in the committee and could not be dispelled by Horst Kreuter. Ultimately, the majority of the committee decided, with a dissenting vote, to fundamentally and comprehensively reject the planned project. In the resolution, reference is made to the important infrastructure facilities and drinking water supplies.
In the statement, the municipality points out that it will not make land available neither for possible test drilling nor for regular operations based on it !!!P.S. Alekhine, thanks for your wise and comprehensive comments...
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