Lithium-ion batteries are a key factor in the energy transition. Global battery production is expected to grow by 30 percent annually until 2030. The traditional extraction of lithium in South America through the evaporation of lithium-containing brines in large basins poses a serious threat to the environment and local freshwater reserves. Direct lithium extraction (DLE) from near-surface brine or from deep geothermal energy offers an environmentally friendly alternative that minimizes water usage and opens up new resources in Europe. However, there is a lack of commercially viable real-time monitoring of the lithium content. For this reason, the Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM and the Institute for Applied Geosciences at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) launched a project in March 2025 to commercialize the process. The project is funded by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labor and Tourism as part of the "Invest BW-Praxissprints" program. Researchers from KIT and Fraunhofer IPM have already jointly developed the basic principles: sorbents have been optimized, test facilities have been set up and initial procedures for precise process control have been developed. Now a pilot plant is to be built for tests under real conditions.
