Vulcan Energy has signed a binding term sheet with global energy technology company SLB in a bid to increase geothermal-lithium brine production as part of the development of its Zero Carbon lithium project.
SLB will execute drilling services for at least 15 production and re-injection wells to help create renewable heat and lithium-bearing brine. Vulcan says it will increase the brine production from its current operations.
Through the deal, SLB will provide technology services for US$3.6 million (AU$ 5.390 million) in-kind to support the optimisation of workflows to maximise performance.
Vulcan says SLB has worked in hundreds of geothermal fields in more than 50 countries and participated in 70 per cent of all operating geothermal projects worldwide.
The Zero Carbon Lithium Project, which is gearing up to provide sustainable lithium to the European electric vehicle industry and renewable energy to local communities, is well positioned to benefit from partnering with established companies with long-standing expertise in the energy sector like SLB, and we look forward to working together as we ramp up our execution phase. Vulcan Energy managing director and chief executive officer Dr Francis Wedin
The company is developing integrated lithium chemicals and geothermal renewable energy production from its Zero Carbon lithium project in the Upper Rhine Valley in Germany and France. Uniquely, the project will produce clean geothermal power for its own use and for sale into the market, in addition to lithium hydroxide production.
The model at the intriguing project seeks to extract the sought-after battery metal from its lithium-laden hot brines percolating deep below in the picturesque Upper Rhine Valley that extends across France, Germany and Switzerland.
While more than 60 per cent of global lithium production is sourced from such brines, Vulcan’s competitive – and green – edge is that the heat at which these brines bubble to the surface is capable of generating power, courtesy of standard geothermal technology, with zero carbon emissions.
After extraction of geothermal energy and lithium, the brine is reinjected back into the bedrock to make a closed-loop process with minimal impact on the surrounding environment.
Earlier this month, the company entered the final stage of development of its lithium extraction optimisation plant and says it is on target for the mechanical completion of its operation as soon as next month.
Once the plant reaches mechanical completion, Vulcan is targeting commissioning during September ahead of the full operation that will herald the first-ever tonnes of lithium chloride concentrate produced domestically in Europe.
SLB has been a leader in drilling technology services for geothermal projects in the Upper Rhine Valley area since 2006 and has handled most of the projects in the area for the past decade.
Vulcan says the oil and gas sector has unique expertise which can be leveraged to develop the renewably-heated lithium brine assets that can produce lithium sustainably with a lower-carbon footprint.
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