Global Geothermal’s Double-Barreled Power

The world is hungry for lithium. Geothermal energy could transform how it’s sourced

Anmar Frangoul, January 19, 2022 (CNBC)

“..In the Uk’s county of Cornwall, efforts are underway to tap into the area’s natural resources and establish an industry which could, one day, produce both renewable energy and establish a local source of lithium…[L]ithium is crucial to electric vehicles and battery storage, two technologies with a big role to play in the planet’s shift to a low and zero emission future…

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Cornwall’s Geothermal Engineering Ltd (GEL) wants] to demonstrate that lithium hydroxide, a key component of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles, can be produced in Cornwall from naturally occurring geothermal water with a net zero carbon footprint…[Processing falls into] three main categories: adsorption using porous materials that enable lithium bonding, ion exchange, and solvent extraction…[Doing it] remains a challenging task…The security of global supply chains is another issue, especially when the vast majority of lithium production is currently dominated by countries including Chile, China, Australia and Argentina… [C]ommercializing less intensive, more local and easily accessible ways of sourcing lithium could be hugely important going forward…

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…[Major economies and automotive manufacturers are planning] to increase the number of electric vehicles on our roads…[and] the push to expand renewable energy capacity shows no sign of letting up…[Much lithium is expected to come from recycling batteries but] the majority of lithium that will be in use in 2030 had not been extracted yet…[GeoCubed, Cornish Lithium, Vulcan Energy Resources in Germany, Controlled Thermal Resources in California are all working on geothermal-lithium] engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning…” click here for more

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