Vulcan Energy Resources has secured a deal with SLB to boost geothermal-lithium brine production from its zero carbon lithium project in Europe.
Vulcan Energy Resources has secured a deal with SLB to boost geothermal-lithium brine production from its zero carbon lithium project in Europe.
Global energy technology company SLB, formerly Schlumberger, will provide services for the first phase of Vulcan’s commercial project for integrated geothermal renewable energy and lithium production.
The zero carbon lithium project is on the border of Germany and France, in the Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field.
In a statement to the market, Vulcan today said SLB would provide technology services for $US3.6 million in-kind to support the optimisation of workflows as part of the signed agreement between the parties.
It includes drilling services for a minimum of 15 production and reinjection wells, producing renewable heat and lithium-bearing brine to increase Vulcan’s brine production from the current operations.
The zero carbon lithium project aims to provide sustainable lithium to the European electric vehicle industry and renewable energy to communities.
Vulcan managing director and chief executive Francis Wedin said the zero carbon lithium project was well positioned to benefit from partnering with established companies in the energy sector, including SLB.
“As widely reported, whilst the mining sector is investing in hard-rock lithium production, the oil and gas sector has unique expertise which can be leveraged to develop renewably heated lithium brine assets, which can produce lithium sustainably with a lower carbon footprint,” he said.
SLB Europe managing director Rob Fox said the transition to clean energy solutions would require innovation and collaboration on an unprecedented scale.
“Our decades of subsurface knowledge, drilling expertise and cutting-edge technologies will be seamlessly integrated in this project to deliver increased brine production, aiding Vulcan in its objective of providing sustainable, decarbonised lithium,” he said.
Vulcan has offices in Perth and in Karlsruhe and Augsburg, Germany.
