Name of the Project
Zero Carbon lithium project.

Location
The Vulcan lithium project comprises multiple licence areas in the Upper Rhine Valley area of south-west Germany, from where Vulcan plans to develop a combined geothermal energy and lithium brine project.

Project Owner/s
Vulcan Energy.

Project Description
The project has a maiden probable ore reserve of 1.12-million lithium carbonate equivalent at 181 mg/ℓ lithium across the project’s Ortenau and Taro licences.

The prefeasibility study (PFS) proposes to draw on naturally occurring geothermal energy to power the lithium extraction process and create a renewable-energy by-product, with the operation not using any fossil fuels, requiring little water and having a small footprint.

The project includes a geothermal power plant for the production of renewable-sourced electricity at each brine extraction site. Co-located on the same sites are direct lithium extraction (DLE) plants for the extraction of lithium. The lithium chloride solution from the DLE plants will then be sent to a central lithium plant, where the solution is purified and converted into produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

Multiple DLE and conversion plant capacity scenarios have been investigated as part of the PFS.

The full project will produce 15 000 t/y of lithium hydroxide, along with 73 MW of electricity.

Phase 1 considers the production of geothermal energy and lithium chloride through two plants, with lithium hydroxide produced at a central lithium plant. Phase 2 considers the production of geothermal energy and lithium chloride through three plants, with lithium hydroxide produced at a central lithium plant. 

Phase 1 (Taro) will produce about 15 000 t/y of lithium hydroxide while generating 22 MW of electricity, while the Phase 2 (Ortenau) operation will produce 25 000 t/y of lithium hydroxide, along with 51 MW of electricity.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The combined renewable-energy lithium project, with no phasing, has a positive after-tax net present value (NPV) of €2.25-billion and an internal rate of return of 21%, with a payback of five years.

The proposed phased option shows an NPV of €700-million in Phase 1 (Taro) and an NPV of €1.4-billion in Phase 2 (Ortenau), with a payback of five and six years respectively.

Lithium, as a separate entity from energy, shows a post-tax IRR of 26%.

Capital Expenditure 
The full project, with no phasing, has a capital expenditure (capex) of €1.74-billion.

Phase 1 has capex of €700-million and Phase 2 €1.14-billion. 

Planned Start/End Date 
The proposed full project, with no phasing, will start in 2024.

Phase 1 and Phase 2 are proposed to start in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Latest Developments
Vulcan Energy has secured a site for its planned lithium hydroxide plant at the Höchst Chemical Park, outside of Frankfurt.

The location allows for low-carbon transport options from Vulcan’s nearby project areas, as well as renewable energy to power the proposed plant, which underpins the company’s commitment to minimising its carbon footprint in each step of our process, Vulcan MD Dr Francis Wedin has said.

First production of battery quality lithium hydroxide from the pilot plant was announced on September 27.

The lithium hydroxide monohydrate was produced at Vulcan’s sorption pilot plant, located at a geothermal renewable-energy plant in the Upper Rhine Valley, in Germany, with downstream electrolysis processing off site, as per Vulcan’s planned commercial Zero Carbon lithium project.

The central lithium plant (CLP) is intended as a processing hub, processing lithium chloride from multiple combined geothermal and lithium sorption plants into lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

From the plant, the lithium hydroxide monohydrate is intended to be transported to Vulcan’s European customers in the battery and electric vehicle industry, significantly lowering the transport footprint of the current lithium supply chain.

Vulcan will work with a dedicated team going forward to obtain necessary permits in the chemical park for the CLP construction and operation.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
gec-c (geothermal plant design); Hatch (direct lithium extraction and lithium processing plant design, engineering and cost estimates); Geo-T (engineering studies and cost estimates for the geothermal plant, as well as the subsurface well design and production study); GLJ (review and sign-off on the maiden probable Joint Ore Reserves Committee ore reserves); APEX Geoscience (resource modelling and estimation for the Upper Rhine Valley project lithium-brine indicated resources used in the PFS); IBZ Salzchemie, among other providers (laboratory testwork); and Optiro (financial modelling).

Contact Details for Project Information
Vulcan Energy, tel +61 8 6189 8767 or email info@v-er.com.