Demand for lithium is growing rapidly – driven primarily by electric mobility. Researchers at Forschungszentrum Jülich have teamed up with the spin-off 7EX Technologies to develop a process for the highly selective electrochemical extraction of lithium from aqueous sources.
Lithium is considered a key raw material for batteries. However, global production is struggling to keep pace with rising demand. As early as 2022, the shortage led to a sharp rise in prices, and a global supply deficit of 300 kt of lithium is expected by 2030. At the same time, the EU is calling for around 80 per cent of lithium to be recovered from batteries from 2030 onwards.
Against this backdrop, the spin-off 7EX Technologies has developed new technologies for lithium extraction. The method is based on an electrochemical process in which lithium is deposited into an electrode using an applied voltage. In this process, only lithium is extracted from the source, rather than separating out all other components.
The technology operates without membranes and is energy-efficient, enabling lithium extraction even from sources with very low concentrations of around 100 ppm. This makes it possible, for example, to tap geothermal brine or industrial process water as new sources of raw materials. The aim is to make Europe’s low-concentration lithium sources profitable.
The underlying technology originated from PhD theses at Forschungszentrum Jülich. Patents for the process have already been filed. The long-term plan is to build a modular plant with several stack reactors.
Further information: https://www.fz-juelich.de/en/news/archive/announcements/2025/a-solution-to-the-lithium-bottleneck
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