Lithium is mainly used to make EV batteries, and has historically been produced using water-intensive evaporation ponds or open-pit mines. But a fleet of direct lithium extraction (DLE) technologies is trying to upend that.
DLE technologies extract the white metal from brine using filters, membranes, ceramic beads or other equipment that can typically be housed in a small warehouse.
The Clearwater project is expected to have a production life of 50 years. Over this period, the lithium hydroxide production could reduce to 25,850 tonnes per year on average, as the lithium grade declines when the brine starts to mix with the production well.
The DLE process often uses lots of potable water and electricity, and none have worked at commercial scale.
To manage the water-intensive process, E3 said all process-affected water its generates from systems would be recycled back to the storage tank, with the company not needing to source any…
