ROME, March 6 (Reuters) - Italy's multi-utility Iren IREE.MI and Altamin (AZI) signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at recovering lithium from geothermal projects the Australian group has around Rome, the two groups said on Wednesday.
The two companies plan to study the potential and the recovery methods for lithium in waters in the Lazio region, where Altamin has had permits since the 1970s and where it was assessing the possibility of producing geothermal energy.
Lithium, a key raw material which is used in batteries for smartphones as well as electric cars, can be extracted from geothermal brines - salty waters found at high temperatures with a high concentration of salts.
"Extracting lithium from geothermal brines has several advantages over conventional methods, namely mining and evaporation in lithium ponds," Alexander Burns, non-executive chairman of Altamin, said in the statement.
The European Union and Italy are highly dependent on foreign imports of the metal, which is largely produced in Australia, Chile and China.
"The project with Altamin is among the first European projects to connect industrial needs and circular economy processes," Iren Chairman Luca Dal Fabbro said in the statement.
