Lithium developer Vulcan Energy [ASX:VUL] said it has developed an in-house lithium extraction technology to be used on the Upper Rhine Valley brine it has dubbed VULSORB.
Vulcan said the in-house technology ‘demonstrated higher performance and lower water consumption for lithium extraction in Vulcan’s pilot plant compared with commercially available sorbents tested by the company’.
VUL shares were up 2% late on Monday, underperforming a broad rally in lithium stocks.
Peers like Sayona Mining [ASX:SYA] and Core Lithium [ASX:CXO] were up 6% and 10%, respectively.
VUL shares are down 25% year to date.
Source: Trading View
Vulcan talks up VULSORB lithium extraction tech
Vulcan Energy reported the results of in-house tests of its own lithium extraction technology.
Vulcan’s VULSORB extraction sorbent ‘demonstrated higher performance’ than ‘commercially available sorbents tested by the company’.
VUL said its in-house extraction process is a variation on a type of lithium extraction developed 30 years ago and used commercially ‘around the world for lithium extraction from brine for the last 25 years’.
Vulcan has developed VULSORB in line with Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9, commenting:
‘This Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 9 approach for lithium extraction can be used in most lithium-rich brines globally, provided salinity in the brine is high enough and there is sufficient heat to drive the process, with a brine pre-treatment step to increase sorbent durability which can be adjusted depending on local brine chemistry.’
A question does arise.
If this process is based on a method used commercially worldwide for the last 25 years and it is ‘much faster and more efficient…than the legacy industry method of using large-scale evaporation’, why haven’t more lithium businesses adopted it?
Especially when, as Vulcan explained, the sorbent extraction process ‘happens in hours, rather than up to 18 months’?
Are there costs associated with this method that offset the benefits?
Vulcan did not address this directly.
Vulcan Energy management commentary
What did VUL senior executives have to say about the in-house lithium extraction technology?
Vulcan’s CEO Dr Francis Wedin commented:
‘I congratulate Vulcan’s world renowned and highly experienced lithium extraction team on successfully developing, testing and demonstrating our own in-house lithium extraction sorbent, VULSORB™. In contrast to other developers who are increasingly using sorption in their development but often outsourcing to external technology providers, Vulcan is uniquely positioned as both a lithium extraction technology provider, as well as a lithium chemicals and renewable energy developer.
‘Until now, there have been no commercially available sorbents for lithium extraction manufactured in Europe, thus making the region dependent on foreign supply chains. VULSORB™ will enable Europe to extract lithium from its own brine fields, without being exposed to geopolitical risk.’
European energy deals and VUL
Using VULSORB, Vulcan said it would be able to keep its carbon footprint low while quickly producing in-demand lithium for batteries and cathodes required for the burgeoning European renewable energy and electric vehicle industry.
While VUL is still testing some other sorbents from various suppliers, it has noted first commercial production of its VULSORB should be around Q4 2025.
Wedin added:
‘The successful production of VULSORB™ together with the recent test results of the highest grade, lowest impurity lithium hydroxide to date from our pilot plant, complement the continued works on our containerised Sorption Demonstration Plant and on our Phase 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS), as our DFS nears conclusion in support of our target of first commercial production from our Zero Carbon Lithium™ Project in late 2025.’
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