Pilot project to extract lithium at Bruchsal geothermal plant, Germany

Bruchsal geothermal plant, Germany (source: EnBW)

Lithium for 20,000 car batteries is to be extracted in Bruchsal, according to the goal of the project partners energy utility EnBW and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology KIT , as reported by local news station SWR. The prototype is scheduled to go into operation at the Bruchsal site at the end of the year. Then it should be checked whether what has already been successfully tested in the laboratory also works in practice. The prototype should run for over a year. We previously reported on the plans.

The first well for the project was drilled already in 1983 with a second well drilled for re-injection in 1984/ 85. The project has an installed capacity of 0.5 MW (550 kW) and is a Kalina cycle binary plant. It started operation in December 2009, as the first geothermal power plant in Baden-Württemberg and in the Upper Rhine area of Germany.

Lithium from the Upper Rhine is enough for 200,000 batteries

Among other things, the question of whether the costs of lithium extraction are still in line with the market should also be clarified. So far, lithium has mostly had to be imported from South America and Australia. EnBW believes that lithium for 200,000 car batteries could even be obtained annually from all geothermal systems on the Upper Rhine alone.

Compared to the traditional methods of lithium production from the South American salt lakes and the Australian hard rock, the new process offers decisive advantages. The existing infrastructure is used by geothermal systems, through which up to two billion liters of thermal water flow each year. In contrast to classic mining, there is hardly any overburden and land use is minimal.

The process has many environmental benefits

Because the thermal water is returned to the underground after use, no harmful substances are released and geothermal electricity and heat production is not disrupted. Lithium can be extracted continuously within hours in the thermal water cycle of the geothermal system, whereas the enrichment in the South American salt lakes takes several months and is highly dependent on the weather.

In addition, the process offers the possibility of extracting other rare elements such as rubidium or cesium from the thermal water, which are required, for example, in laser and vacuum technology.

Source: SWR