Growing gaps between lithium supply and demand risk slowing the energy transition. Brine resources in the Lithium Triangle are expected to be critical, yet significant scientific, environmental, and societal challenges remain. This Voices article reflects on insights from the recent Direct Lithium Extraction Symposium at KIT by highlighting technological advances, unresolved obstacles, and pathways toward potentially more circular and reliable lithium production.
Article published by Gobbato et al., Mining brine to source lithium for the energy transition, Chem Circularity (2026), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.checir.2026.100007
EnBW and LevertonHELM launch cooperation for environmentally friendly lithium production in Europe to strengthen electromobility.
In Germany, LevertonHELM and EnBW have successfully produced lithium carbonate with a purity of over 99.5 per cent. The material extracted by LevertonHELM comes from an EnBW geothermal plant in Bruchsal, in the state of Baden-Wüttenburg.
Article available in German.
[…] “Significant ore resources of Li (mainly pegmatite) and large reserves of geothermal Li deposits were identified in Europe. Geothermal Li projects have a unique advantage due to the on-site production of renewable energy, which can be partly used to refine and produce emission-free Li hydroxide (LiOH).” […]