Vulcan Energy has officially launched lithium hydroxide production at its Central Lithium Electrolysis Optimisation Plant in Frankfurt, Germany. This marks a significant milestone as the company produces the first lithium hydroxide from high-purity lithium chloride, sourced from brines at its adsorption-type direct lithium extraction optimisation plant.
According to Vulcan Energy, this is the first instance of fully domestically produced, sustainable lithium hydroxide in Europe. The new plant is designed to provide lithium hydroxide for the battery-grade qualification process with major automotive and battery offtake partners, including Stellantis, Renault, LG and Umicore. This comes as Vulcan works to complete the construction of its phase one commercial plant.
Phase one of the project is set to produce 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide per year, enough to power approximately 500,000 electric vehicles annually. The company’s upstream process involves extracting lithium from deep, naturally heated brine reservoirs using adsorption-type direct lithium extraction, while the downstream conversion to lithium hydroxide will be powered entirely by electricity. Vulcan claims this integrated process is among the lowest-cost lithium chemical supply chains in the world.
Vulcan’s CEO, Cris Moreno, emphasized that the integration of upstream production and downstream conversion plants is critical to ensuring the battery supply chain resilience in Germany and across Europe. “This combination of processes allows for a very low-cost, highly sustainable, premium product, which is key to boosting European battery and EV production competitiveness”, said Moreno.
The phase one plants will also be completely fossil fuel-free in their lithium extraction and processing operations, making Vulcan’s lithium production process the lowest in carbon footprint globally. Additionally, the project will co-produce renewable heat and power, which will be utilized by local communities, further supporting the decarbonisation of surrounding industries.
Vulcan Energy’s vision is to build the world’s first carbon-neutral, integrated lithium and renewable energy business, providing a key solution to support the decarbonisation of battery production and the wider electric vehicle industry.
