The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced funding of $10.9 million for 10 projects in 9 states, designed to advance innovative technologies for the extraction and conversion of battery-grade lithium derived from US geothermal brine sources.

Two topic areas were chosen for the projects. The first, “Field Validation of Lithium Hydroxide Production from Geothermal Brines,” involves pilot or demonstration projects to validate cost-effective, innovative lithium extraction and lithium hydroxide conversion technologies. These projects will be led by ExSorbtion and Energy Exploration Technologies.

The second topic area, “Applied Research and Development for Direct Lithium Extraction from Geothermal Brines,” encompasses R&D projects to advance emerging direct lithium extraction (DLE) process technologies to increase efficiency, reduce waste generation and/or reduce cost. Eight projects were chosen, led by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Texas at Austin, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Penn State University Park, Rice University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of Virginia.

Source: US Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy