Geothermal power firm finds lithium in Cornwall

A GEOTHERMAL energy company plans to extract lithium alongside its power plants in Cornwall after finding record concentrations of the metal.

Geothermal Engineering said tests had found 250mg per litre concentrations of lithium in waters deep underneath the county, higher than in geothermal waters anywhere else in the world. It already planned to use the waters to generate electricity and heat local homes from four planned power plants, and now also intends to install lithium extraction devices at the plants.

The company believes it could produce 4,000 tonnes of lithium a year by 2026. That would make a significant contribution to the 59,000 tons a year that the UK is likely to need by 2035.

Demand for lithium is expected to grow due to its use in electric car batteries, particularly as sales of new petrol and diesel cars will be banned in 2030, prompting a surge of interest in Cornwall’s lithium deposits.

Another company, Cornish Lithium, is also planning to extract from geothermal waters.

Ryan Law, Geothermal Engineering’s managing director, said its plans “will help to drive more geothermal projects forward in the UK and offer more opportunities for green jobs” and could help a lithium-ion battery-based economy develop in the UK.

The company signed an agreement with Cornwall council last month for four geothermal heat and power plants.

It anticipates each will be able to power about 45,000 homes and heat 10,000. It aims to have them operating by 2026.

Geothermal Engineering’s testing plant in United Downs, Cornwall, is also on track to deliver electricity to the national grid in 2022.