Evonik Catalysts to supply Liocel adsorbent for Altmark lithium pilot

Evonik Catalysts has been selected to supply its Liocel adsorbent for Pilot Phase II of Neptune Energy's Altmark Lithium Extraction project in Saxony-Anhalt, northern Germany. The adsorbent will be tested in a direct lithium extraction pilot plant developed by Fraunhofer IEG, which can process up to 1,000 liters of geothermal brine per day. Evonik is also providing on-site application and process know-how, and Neptune will assess several adsorbent materials over the coming months. The Altmark resource is estimated at 43 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent.

Key facts

Market context

Lithium is a core input for rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, grid storage and portable electronics, and lithium carbonate and hydroxide are the main intermediate forms that battery cathode and electrolyte producers buy. Most supply has traditionally come from hard-rock mining and evaporation ponds in a few countries, so producers and automakers are interested in alternative routes that can be sited closer to demand. Direct lithium extraction uses selective sorbent materials to capture lithium ions from brine while rejecting other dissolved salts, which can shorten processing time and reduce land use compared with evaporation. Adsorbent performance, durability and regeneration cost largely determine whether such a process is economic at scale, so pilot testing of several materials is an important step before any commercial decision. Geothermal brines are attractive because they can be produced alongside heat or power generation, though technical and cost hurdles remain for moving from pilot to commercial output.

Source: official release on evonik.com. Summary and context written by Market Krystal.