Today it was a relaxing good update. Funny SP went down as if its a bad one. Anyway for me i know our SP is not even represent the Vulcan's asset and cash value let alone its potential. Again in a way SP is my least concern atm as, as long as I can see the lithium demand exists, I know vulcan is more likely to become not only Germany's main lithium power house but also one of the main renewable energy suppliers.
following very recent article by KIT is yet another proof that backs my trust further on VUL. If you know what is KIT how reputable they are and how closely they have affiliated with GOV & agencies, then you may know that their research and its findings has a big saying when gov try to implement its decisions..


https://www.kit.edu/kit/pi_2023_066_nachhaltiges-lithium-fuer-viele-jahrzehnte.php

Sustainable lithium for many decades

KIT researchers see long-term prospects for lithium production with geothermal plants

Graphics: Valentin Goldberg and Fabian Nitschke

Spread of the lithium-depleted thermal water around the injection well along the fault zone after 30 years (Graphic: Valentin Goldberg and Fabian Nitschke)

With existing geothermal drilling in the Upper Rhine Graben, lithium could be reliably mined for several decades without this source of raw materials drying up. This is shown by current data analyzes by researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). They published their results in the specialist journal Energies (DOI: 10.3390/en16165899 ).

On the way to climate neutrality, Europe needs a lot of lithium for battery storage - but so far it has only produced one percent of the global production volume. KIT scientists are therefore investigating ways of extracting lithium from geothermal sources. "Theoretically, existing geothermal power plants in the Upper Rhine Graben and in the North German Basin could cover between two and twelve percent of the annual lithium demand in Germany," says Valentin Goldberg from the Institute for Applied Geosciences (AGW) of KIT, who, together with a team, has discovered this potential based on an extensive data analysis calculated. So far, however, it was unclear how long funding would be possible. With another study, the researchers are now giving an optimistic outlook: “According to our findings, mining is possible over many years with low environmental costs,” says Goldberg. “The model developed for the study describes possible lithium production in the Upper Rhine Graben, but the parameters are chosen so that they can also be transferred to other fracture systems.”

Modeling geothermal lithium production

The extraction of lithium from thermal water is not a conventional form of mining, which is why the usual methods could not be used for the analysis. “The lithium dissolved in the water occurs in an extensive network of fissures and cavities in the rock. However, it is only accessible at certain points via individual boreholes,” explains Dr. Fabian Nitschke from AGW, who was also involved in the research. “The size of the reservoir therefore depends on the amount of water that can be hydraulically tapped via the drilling.” In order to calculate the potential of lithium production, the researchers had to take into account how much water can be pumped, what amount of lithium this water contains and how much of it can be extracted per unit of time. “We use dynamic transport modeling, based on the subsurface conditions of the Upper Rhine Graben, in which we consider thermal, hydraulic and chemical processes in conjunction. Similar models are already known from the oil and gas industry, but have not yet been applied to lithium,” says Nitschke.

Since the water extracted from geothermal energy is returned to the subsurface via a second borehole after use, the researchers wondered whether the lithium content of the deep water would decrease over time. The results show that the lithium concentration in the production well decreases by between 30 and 50 percent during the first third of the 30-year period under review as a result of dilution with the recirculated water. After that it approaches a constant value. "This is due to the open fissure system, which continuously supplies fresh deep water from other directions," says Nitschke. Based on the model assumptions, continuous lithium production seems possible for decades: "Basically, the mining of this unconventional resource shows a classic deposit cycle.

Sensible investment in a sustainable future

For Thomas Kohl from AGW, who leads research as a professor of geothermal energy and reservoir technology at KIT, the research results are a further argument for a broad expansion of geothermal energy: “We already knew that geothermal energy would provide us with base-load, renewable energy for decades can. Our study now shows that a single power plant in the Upper Rhine Graben could additionally cover up to three percent of Germany’s annual lithium demand.”

His research group is also working on solutions for practical implementation. She recently presented a study in the trade journal Desalination in which she demonstrated a thermal water pretreatment for raw material extraction that was tested under real conditions. "The next step is to scale the technology to an industrial scale," says Kohl.

original publications

Goldberg, V.; Dashti, A.; Egert, R.; Benny, B.; Kohl, T.; Nitschke, F.: Challenges and Opportunities for Lithium Extraction from Geothermal Systems in Germany – Part 3: The Return of the Extraction Brine. Energies, 2023. DOI: 10.3390/en16165899

https://doi.org/10.3390/en16165899

Goldberg, V.; Winter, D.; Nitschke, F.; Held, S.; Gross, F.; Pfeiffle, D.; Uhde, J.; Morata, D.; Koschikowski, J.; Kohl, T.: Development of a continuous silica treatment strategy for metal extraction processes in operating geothermal plants. Desalination, 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.desal.2023.116775

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2023.116775

Additional Information:

Podcast "In demand - Knowing how it works": Electricity and heat from thermal springs on the Upper Rhine, with Valentin Goldberg

Limits of lithium production from geothermal energy (press release of the KIT, October 18, 2022):

Details on the KIT Energy Center

As “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association,” KIT creates and imparts knowledge for society and the environment. The aim is to make significant contributions to global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility and information. To this end, around 9,800 employees work together on a broad disciplinary basis in natural sciences, engineering, economics, humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,300 students for responsible tasks in society, business, and science through research-oriented university studies. The innovation activity at KIT builds the bridge between knowledge and application for social benefit, economic prosperity and the preservation of our natural resources.

mhe, 05.09.2023

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dr Martin Heidelberger
Press Officer
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