At the 16th Fastmarkets Lithium Supply and Battery Raw Materials Conference in Las Vegas, Northern Lithium Ltd. (Northern Lithium) and Evove Ltd. (Evove) announced the signing of a contract to install and trial an in-field Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) demonstration plant in the UK during the autumn of 2024.
The commercial agreement follows Evove’s extensive DLE processing at industrial-scale of saline brines extracted from Northern Lithium’s Northern Pennine Orefield in August 2023 and the announcement of a tripartite partnership between Evove, Northern Lithium and engineering firm RSE in December 2023 (see: https://www.dle.technology/news/uk-sourced-lithium-extraction-plant)
Lithium is a critical raw material in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries. This milestone is therefore welcome news for UK gigafactories and the country’s electric vehicle and power storage industries. A secure domestic supply of battery-grade lithium will provide significant environmental and economic benefits, as well as reduce the UK’s exposure to global supply chain disruptions. It is forecast that the UK will need up to 80,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) per year by 2030 and as much as 135,000 tonnes per year by 2040.
The initial module of a DLE demonstration plant is due to be commissioned at Northern Lithium’s first production site in County Durham during the autumn of 2024, with successive modular expansion of the plant thereafter to reach first full-scale commercial production of battery grade lithium from 2027.
“This milestone agreement is the logical conclusion of intense preparation and successful piloting of Evove’s DLE technology on our lithium-rich brines,” commented Nick Pople, Northern Lithium Managing Director. “Our goal is to achieve first commercial production from 2027 and scale up from there to 10,000+ tonnes of battery-grade lithium delivered per year from several production areas across the Northern Pennine Orefield within the next decade.”
“The DLE plant is engineered in modules to allow scalable expansion,” said Chris Wyres, Evove CEO. “With in-built versatility, Northern Lithium has a variety of options for the production capacity and final lithium product created. It will demonstrate exemplary efficiency with some of the world’s most advanced technology for lithium extraction.”
Northern Lithium Founder and Chairman, Richard Morecombe, added: “Thanks to Evove’s DLE technology and expertise, we can now help the UK rapidly secure a sustainable supply of lithium from domestic sources, with UK technology and engineering at the core of our operations.”
Northern Lithium
Established in 2017, Northern Lithium is a privately-owned innovative mineral exploration and development company, based in County Durham, Northeast of England, and focused on delivering a secure domestic supply of lithium from the North East for UK gigafactories and the UK’s electric vehicle and power storage industries, using sustainable extraction and production techniques.
For more information please contact:
Nick Pople, Managing Director
e: nickpople@northernlithium.uk
t: +44 7788 665754
Northern Evove
Evove deploys advanced technology to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the filtration and separation of fluids in lithium, green hydrogen and food & beverage production, as well as in desalination and the treatment of industrial water.
For more information please contact:
Andrew Walker, Managing Director
e: andrew.walker@evove.tech
t: +44 7450 583660