Vulcan Energie secures five important licenses

Lithium is an important resource for the construction of batteries for electric cars. Vulcan Energie is now allowed to extract the metal in the Upper Rhine Graben - using a specially developed CO2-neutral process.

Vulcan Energie has secured an extraction license for geothermal energy and four exploration licenses for geothermal energy extraction and lithium. The licenses cover 325 square kilometers in the Upper Rhine Graben, a region between Basel and Frankfurt am Main.

Vulcan Energie intends to extract the lithium from thermal water in the Upper Rhine Graben. In 2024, the extraction should begin, according to electrive.net. To do this, the startup will pump the hot brine up from underground. The heat is used to generate electricity, and the energy generated in the process apparently allows the lithium to be filtered out of the thermal water. The water is then piped back into the earth. This method of lithium extraction is said to be CO2-free, according to Vulcan Energie. Previous methods of mining the metal, such as extraction from rock and evaporation ponds, are still very energy-intensive.

Vulcan Energie is the German subsidiary of the Australian stock exchange company Vulcan Energy Resources. In the future, the company wants to supply car manufacturers such as Volkswagen, Stellantis and Renault with lithium. A feasibility study is due by the second half of 2022.

"The identification of new areas with potential for geothermal energy production and CO2-free lithium production in the Upper Rhine Graben is a success of the tireless work of our experts," Vulcan Energy CEO Horst Kreuter told electrive.net. "We can now supplement the production capacities covered to date and expand them in a timely manner."