Lilac, a leading provider of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology, today announced the launch of a new field pilot with Neptune Energy, marking the company’s first lithium pilot plant in Europe. The plant is located at Neptune’s operations site in Steinitz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, and will produce battery-grade lithium carbonate from brine associated with gas production.
The integrated pilot processes brine from the subsurface reservoir through a complete flowsheet encompassing filtering and pretreatment, lithium extraction using Lilac’s proprietary ion exchange technology, concentration, and conversion into battery-grade lithium carbonate. Lilac’s containerized pilot system was fabricated at the company’s Oakland, California headquarters and shipped to site.
The field pilot is capable of testing both hydrochloric and sulfuric acid flowsheets to optimize the process design for scale-up. Operations, including brine processing, began in May, with testing scheduled to run through the end of July.
The brine is sourced from Neptune’s existing natural gas wells in the Altmark, a region with a long history of energy and raw materials production. This dual use of the wells for gas and lithium production illustrates how existing fields can be used to support new energy technologies. Lilac’s DLE technology requires no evaporation ponds and minimal land and water usage.