Update: Lithium from Europe: hurdles and successes

A lot has happened in lithium extraction in the past year, and fortunately mainly in Europe. This is also urgently needed if we want to become less dependent on South America, Australia and China when it comes to battery production. Especially as extraction from the largest European deposits is very uncertain. An update to the article from May 2024.

Shortly after the publication of our first article ‘Lithium from Europe’, the media reported that lithium mining in Serbia's Jadar Valley could soon become a reality. The EU and Serbia had signed an agreement to this effect. That was a bombshell. It has long been known that there is an extremely large lithium deposit in western Serbia. However, following mass protests, the Serbian government revoked the mining licence it had granted in 2022. The fears of the people were - and still are in parts of the population - that the groundwater could be damaged by the mining and there could be disadvantages for the water supply. Under the new agreement, Germany is to play a key role in securing access to lithium for Europe. New environmental impact studies by the British-Australian mining investor and the reference to the now higher environmental and sustainability standards have so far failed to dispel the Serbian company's concerns.

The deposit contains the mineral jadarite, a sodium-lithium-boron-silicate-hydroxide, which was first discovered there in 2004. It is estimated to contain 136 million tonnes of ore with a high lithium and boron content. This would make it possible to produce around 58,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year - enough for one million electric vehicles. In addition to lithium, boron is also to be extracted there. Rio Tinto continues to endeavour to convince the public of the benefits of the project. The company is also investing in battery manufacturer InoBat, which is building a development facility and a pilot plant in Slovakia and has plans to build several gigafactories, including one in Serbia. Nevertheless, the future of the project, which could make Serbia one of the largest lithium producers in the world, remains uncertain.

Headwinds for Zinnwald lithium extraction too

Other lithium extraction projects are also facing increasing headwinds from the public: Zinnwald Lithium GmbH, for example, which announced in June 2024 that the deposit was larger than expected due to new drilling. Annual production of up to 18,000 tonnes of lithium is possible. Zinnwald Lithium has applied to the EU Commission to be categorised as a strategic project in accordance with the new Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA). This would put it in the fast lane - the authorisation procedure would have to be completed within 27 months. Citizens are taking to the barricades against this. They doubt that the low lithium content of the ore makes the operation economically viable and are calling for a feasibility study. However, the company wants to start the authorisation process in 2025. However, the financing has not yet been finalised.

A production plant for lithium hydroxide is also being planned at a second site in Saxony - Altenberg and Falkenhain. Driven by Deutsche Lithium, an AMG subsidiary.

First quantities of lithium hydroxide already coming from Industriepark H?chst

The extraction of lithium using the geothermal process, as used by Vulcan, is looking much better. Things are progressing almost as planned. In August 2024, the company began commissioning its Central Lithium Electrolysis Optimisation Plant (CLEOP) at Industriepark H?chst. Since November, it has been converting lithium chloride from production in Landau into battery-ready lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM). The first commercial plant is to be built once the process has been optimised. This would make Vulcan the first producer in Europe to completely close the production chain for the manufacture of LHM from European lithium. The first quantities from the optimisation plant will be sent to the battery and automotive industry for validation, including Stellantis, Renault, LG and Umicore. Further pilot projects for geothermal lithium extraction are already being planned in Hesse.

A new technology from the US company Lilac Solutions could lead to progress in lithium extraction. It is said to be able to extract more than 90 per cent of lithium from brine. The company is trying to win customers around the world for this technology. The technology uses ion exchange ceramic beads to extract the lithium in batch cycles and then wash it out again.

Also AMG Bitterfeld is already able to deliver

AMG (Advanced Metallurgical Group) reached a milestone in September 2024: in Bitterfeld, the company commissioned the first of five modules of its lithium hydroxide refinery, the first in Europe capable of producing 20,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year for around 500,000 electric cars. The other modules could go into operation by 2030. With a potential production of 100,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide, AMG would hold around 14 percent of the forecast European market. However, AMG extracts the raw material, the lithium mineral spodum, from a mine in Brazil. Nevertheless, the company would make a significant contribution to security of supply in Europe.

More lithium refineries to be built in Finland, Slovakia and the UK

Europe's second lithium refinery is scheduled to go into operation in Kokkola, Finland, in 2026. Locally extracted spodumene concentrate will be processed there. The plant is part of the Keliber project, part of Sibanye-Stillwater. Up to 15,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium hydroxide could be produced there in the future. The commissioning of a lithium refinery (Volt Resources) in Slovakia and in the UK (Green Lithium) has also been announced for 2026. The latter is designed for a production volume of around 50,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year.

Imerys is also pressing ahead with the Emili project in France, initially focussing on further environmental impact studies. A new location for the loading centre is being examined. Reduced use of chemicals is also promised in order to convince the public of the sustainability of the project. By the end of the decade, the company wants to start mining lithium at the Beauvoir site in central France and in Cornwall, UK.

Will Spain also become a lithium producer?

In contrast, the start of lithium production in Spain is uncertain. The company Extremadura New Energies is planning to mine in the Extremadura region. However, authorisation for the project is still pending - and is meeting with considerable resistance. As in Serbia, it is questionable whether it can ever be realised.

Concrete production sites are therefore still few and far between - and not all planned projects will go into operation as planned. Nevertheless, the variety and number of projects shows how actively Europe is working on supplying the growing electromobility sector with lithium hydroxide - and largely self-sufficiently from European supply chains.