The demand for lithium is expected to increase 18-fold by 2030 and even 60-fold by 2050. In the LiCORNE project (Lithium Recovery and Battery Grade Materials Production from European Resources), in which KIT is involved, partners from research and industry want to extract lithium from European sources such as thermal waters, mineral deposits or old batteries in order to reduce dependence on raw materials. They also want to develop cost-efficient, safe and flexible technologies for extracting the light metal that enable a higher yield with a very small ecological footprint.
"At KIT, we are investigating lithium extraction using electrochemical methods from deep geothermal waters in the Upper Rhine Graben," says Dr. Fabian Jeschull from the Institute for Applied Materials at KIT. Iron-based battery materials are used to filter ions from aqueous salt solutions containing lithium. The researchers also want to recycle used lithium-ion storage batteries. The project is being funded with around 6.8 million euros over the next four years.
