High purity lithium carbonate, a vital component of modern rechargeable batteries has been successfully produced from UK sources for the very first time.
This breakthrough comes from an 18-month project funded by Li4UK, a consortium focused on establishing a lithium supply chain domestically, which has implications for the UK technology and automotive industry.
Lithium is a core part of modern rechargeable batteries, such as those found in smartphones and electric vehicles, and so ensuring that the resources to produce high-quality lithium-ion batteries are ideal.
The complexity with lithium is that whilst it is the 25th most abundant element, it is commonly found in low concentrations in several rocks and brines, making contract milling of these rocks of limited commercial value.
Typically, therefore, lithium is mined in places such as Chile, Bolivia, Argentina, China and Australia. This lithium is then sent to refinement and processing in China, before being sent across the world to be used in different electric battery products.
Cornwall has been considered a potential hotspot for lithium, particularly in its hot springs and tin mines, and the samples used to make the high purity lithium carbonate came from an outcropping.
The samples were confirmed to be close to battery-grade in purity, highlighting the promise for domestic lithium.
Cornwall has a range of advantages as a hub of electric battery creation. Many renewable energy sources, such as wind, tidal and solar, are highly effective in the region, enabling low-carbon extraction and refinement of lithium.
As well as this, the hot springs in the area that would be potential sources of lithium could also be used as thermal generators that could power the extraction and refining tools.