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Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide

Author

Listed:
  • Lingchen Kong

    (The George Washington University)

  • Gangbin Yan

    (University of Chicago)

  • Kejia Hu

    (The George Washington University)

  • Yongchang Yu

    (The George Washington University)

  • Nicole Conte

    (The George Washington University)

  • Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr

    (The George Washington University)

  • Michael J. Wagner

    (The George Washington University)

  • Stephen G. Boyes

    (The George Washington University)

  • Hanning Chen

    (The University of Texas at Austin)

  • Chong Liu

    (University of Chicago)

  • Xitong Liu

    (The George Washington University)

Abstract

As Li-ion batteries are increasingly being deployed in electric vehicles and grid-level energy storage, the demand for Li is growing rapidly. Extracting lithium from alternative aqueous sources such as geothermal brines plays an important role in meeting this demand. Electrochemical intercalation emerges as a promising Li extraction technology due to its ability to offer high selectivity for Li and its avoidance of harsh chemical regenerants. In this work, we design an economically feasible electrochemical process that achieves selective lithium extraction from Salton Sea geothermal brine and purification of lithium chloride using intercalation materials, and conversion to battery grade (>99.5% purity) lithium hydroxide by bipolar membrane electrodialysis. We conduct techno-economic assessments using a parametric model and estimated the levelized cost of LiOH•H2O as 4.6 USD/kg at an electrode lifespan of 0.5 years. The results demonstrate the potential of our technology for electro-driven, chemical-free lithium extraction from alternative sources.

Suggested Citation

  • Lingchen Kong & Gangbin Yan & Kejia Hu & Yongchang Yu & Nicole Conte & Kevin R. Mckenzie Jr & Michael J. Wagner & Stephen G. Boyes & Hanning Chen & Chong Liu & Xitong Liu, 2025. "Electro-driven direct lithium extraction from geothermal brines to generate battery-grade lithium hydroxide," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-56071-x
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-56071-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Amir Razmjou & Mohsen Asadnia & Ehsan Hosseini & Asghar Habibnejad Korayem & Vicki Chen, 2019. "Design principles of ion selective nanostructured membranes for the extraction of lithium ions," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Quan Peng & Ruoyu Wang & Zilin Zhao & Shihong Lin & Ying Liu & Dianyu Dong & Zheng Wang & Yiman He & Yuzhang Zhu & Jian Jin & Lei Jiang, 2024. "Extreme Li-Mg selectivity via precise ion size differentiation of polyamide membrane," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
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