EGEC publishes report on geothermal lithium in Europe

Cover page of "Geothermal lithium for the EU critical raw materials act" by EGEC (source: EGEC)

Carlo Cariaga 2 Feb 2023

The European Geothermal Energy Council (EGEC) at the current state of geothermal lithium extraction projects and technologies in Europe, and how this industry can be supported with the proper policy architecture to ensure European sovereignty of supplies and maximize the potential of geothermal lithium across Europe.

An executive summary of the report entitled “Geothermal lithium for the EU critical raw materials act” is available here while the full report is available here.

The report highlights the value of developing a domestic lithium supply chain, especially with the forecast of 200,000 tonnes of lithium needed for electric vehicles in the EU by 2025 and 400,000 tonnes of lithium consumption required to meet 2028 projected demands. The European market has the advantage of having rich reserves of geothermal lithium. However, there is a global race for innovations in this field as other governments have also invested heavily in developing geothermal lithium extraction technologies.

Geothermal lithium has the advantage over traditional lithium mining of having nearly zero environmental impact. It is also inextricably tied to the major applications of geothermal energy for power generation and/or heating and cooling. Compared to conventional lithium mining, extraction of lithium from geothermal brine has marginal ground or water footprint.

The report goes on to recommend the policy architecture needed to support self-sufficiency in geotherxmal lithium production. Of importance is setting a dedicated funding programme for geothermal lithium projects, supporting research and innovation, streamlining administration and licensing for geothermal lithium. The EGEC also urges the EU to reclassify the Risk Assessment for three specific lithium salts to avoid stigmatization of lithium and reduce the risk in investing into the industry.

The report concludes with a long list of currently ongoing projects in the geothermal lithium space. Projects like GEOLITH in Fonroch geothermal plant, Zero Carbon Lithium by Vulcan Energy, UnLimited in the Bruchsal geothermal power plant, and the Cornish Lithium Project were mentioned in the report among several others.

Source: EGEC