Technology:

Geothermal Energy Facilities Could be a Source of Lithium (Hydrogen Fuel News)

The brine in the wastewater from geothermal plants could be used for creating the alkali metal.

(Courtesy Simbol Materials)

Mining lithium from geothermal energy plants is a clever idea that comes from Simbol Materials, a southern Californian based company that takes the brine that ends up as part of the wastewater from the geothermal process and extracts it to create lithium, which is an alkali metal used for making batteries.

The new process has some advantages over current lithium mining methods.

The vast majority of global lithium production occurs in Chile and Argentina. Brine is removed from underground and is gradually concentrated in the sun’s heat. This is a very slow process and the cost of constructing the pipes that are needed underground to extract brine and manage leftover waste are very high. However, Simbol does not need to concern itself with these setbacks because it can utilize the existing infrastructure that has been set up for geothermal power plants.

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