Schematic demonstration of electro-driven lithium extraction and lithium hydroxide conversion course of. Credit score: Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x
Researchers at The George Washington College, in collaboration with different establishments, have developed an revolutionary technique to straight extract and purify lithium from geothermal brines that can be utilized to make batteries present in electrical automobiles.
The research, “Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide,” was printed in Nature Communications.
The power to extract lithium from different sources is crucial for the clear vitality transition and useful resource independence in international locations just like the U.S., the researchers say.
This course of, which avoids harsh chemical substances that may be damaging to the setting, makes use of a particular materials that selectively captures lithium ions from the brine. The captured lithium is then transformed into lithium chloride and eventually into lithium hydroxide, which is the grade appropriate for electrical automobile batteries. The staff additional performed an financial evaluation and located that the tactic might produce battery-grade lithium at a aggressive price.
In accordance with the researchers, present sources of lithium, together with hard-rock mining and salt flats are inadequate to fulfill future international wants. This research introduces an environmentally pleasant answer that faucets into the useful resource of geothermal brines, particularly from sources just like the Salton Sea in California.
The researchers’ expertise is ready to be examined at scale within the coming years.
Extra data:
Lingchen Kong et al, Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x
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Eco-friendly lithium extraction technique developed for electrical automobile batteries (2025, January 29)
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Publish date : 2025-01-30 07:31:08
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