The UK government announced plans to invest, through its Getting Building Fund, in the construction of Europe’s first geothermal lithium recovery pilot plant at a location near Redruth, Cornwall. The public funds will support a £4-million collaboration between Geothermal Engineering (GEL) and Cornish Lithium at GEL’s deep geothermal project, which aims to demonstrate that lithium can be produced from geothermal waters with a net-zero carbon footprint. According to Cornish Lithium, the pilot plant will trial environmentally-responsible Direct Lithium Extraction technology, and its suitability to extract lithium from Cornish geothermal waters. “The optimal DLE technology for Cornish waters is currently being selected, however, the processes being considered utilise technologies such as nanofiltration to selectively remove lithium compounds from the water, rather than relying on evaporation and other less environmentally friendly methods,” the company said in a media statement. “Once the lithium has been extracted, the waters will be returned to […]