Test phase for lithium production in Insheim possible from the end of 2020
Friday, June 19, 2020 - 11:03 a.m.
The Pfalzwerke subsidiary Geofuture would like to extract lithium from the thermal waters near Insheim and Rohrbach. A coveted raw material that is installed in car batteries, among other things, and is needed to promote electromobility. She is driving the project forward with a partner company. But there are different views about when to start.
It does not happen every day that Insheim is mentioned in the national press. The 2000-inhabitant community is in the focus, among other things, in the report “Der Schatz am Oberrhein”, recently published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. That is not by accident. The southern Palatinate village could soon play a special role in the area of electromobility. After all, lithium should be extracted from the thermal water in the not too distant future. A light metal that is used, among other things, in batteries of electric cars. The message is not necessarily new. Already in April 2019 DIE RHEINPFALZ reported on the considerations of the Pfalzwerke subsidiary Geofuture to gain lithium in their geothermal power plant in Insheim. From the thermal brine in the Upper Rhine Rift, which extends from Basel to Frankfurt and includes the Palatinate Forest. It should be part of a research project, as Geofuture managing director Jörg Uhde explained. At that time, he could not say when it would be so far before the mineral wealth could be produced. But now the whole thing has picked up speed. Which is also due to the cooperation with the company Vulcan Energy Resources.
Company was founded in Australia Uhde has been in contact with Horst Kreuter for about a year. He is responsible for the business of Vulcan Energy, the German subsidiary of the group that has so far been registered in Australia. Vulcan Energie had already extracted lithium from rock there. "However, the mining there is associated with high C02 emissions, which is why we were looking for a more sustainable alternative," Kreuter reports to RHEINPFALZ.It is known in the industry that the coveted light metal is contained in the Upper Rhine Trench. Dissolved in thermal water, which is lready being used in geothermal power plants to generate electricity and heat. Uhde also confirms that the amount of lithium in the thermal water is sufficient to win it for further processing. Accordingly, he is glad that a partner has been found in Vulcan Energy with whom the project can be advanced. After all, the company is already active in this business area and can contribute its experience.
Race against time? Now it is to be tested which method can best be used to filter the lithium out of the thermal water. “They are good practices that we will use in parallel. Depending on the composition of the deep water, a process is more or less suitable, ”explains Kreuter. To get an idea: The extracted thermal water should pass through different cylinders, in which a mixture of water and lithium salt should be extracted with different absorbents.The planning is already well advanced, reports Kreuter. In the foreseeable future, approval is to be obtained from the State Office for Geology and Mining in Mainz in order to be allowed to build a pilot plant in Insheim. It is said to cost around one million euros and be the size of an overseas container. The plant is to be ready by the end of this year. At least that's the goal of Vulcan Energy. Geofuture is a bit more reserved here, presuming the starting shot is more likely for the coming year, as Uhde explains. “Reliability, security and sustainability are the three most important aspects of our company philosophy. We will only start once all open questions have been clarified after consultation with the authorities. “It was not a race against time. Especially since it has to be checked whether lithium production in Insheim would be economically profitable.
Up to 2000 tons of lithium hydroxide per year Once the initial experience has been gathered and the appropriate process has been found, the lithium would be delivered to the battery manufacturer in the next step. “You can see if the quality is good enough to work with. We can also consider suggestions for improvement here, ”explains Kreuter. A few months were planned for this second test phase, after which the construction of the commercial plant would begin. According to Kreuter, it could only go into operation in 2022 at the earliest. Up to 2000 tons of lithium hydroxide will then be produced annually at the Insheim site. According to Kreuter, about 50 kilos of lithium hydroxide are required to build an electric vehicle. Accordingly, more projects are needed to promote electromobility. That is why Vulcan Energy has obtained mining rights for Ortenau, the area between Baden-Baden and Offenburg, to explore the natural resources in the region. Lithium is also to be extracted there, but a geothermal power plant must be built beforehand.
There are also project opponents Mayor Martin Baumstark did not expect the project in Insheim to pick up speed so quickly within a year. As a precaution, he had already contacted the State Office for Geology and Mining and was also in discussion with members of the state parliament of Southern Palatinate to get their opinions. The next community council meeting on July 1 should inform the population of their views. “There should be clarity right from the start,” explains Martin Baumstark. The mayor finally knows that there are project opponents in Insheim too. Years ago, a community of interests was formed that views heat generation as critical. Apart from the smaller earthquakes and the terrain surveys, they fear contamination of the groundwater.
(20min delay)
