British Scientists Extract Battery-Grade Lithium from Wastewater in European First
British scientists have announced that they have successfully extracted a metal vital for car battery production—lithium—from wastewater, which they claim marks a significant achievement for the UK in sourcing critical minerals locally. Researchers at UK-based Watercycle Technologies say they have produced more than 100 kg of battery-grade lithium carbonate from brine and wastewater, making it a European first in this field.
Watercycle Technologies, a climate tech spinout from Manchester University, developed this extraction process at their pilot plant in Runcorn, Cheshire. The company is now focused on scaling up production to multi-ton levels in the next six months, with plans to produce high-grade lithium carbonate crystals for car battery manufacturing. However, questions remain about whether the process can be economically viable at a larger scale and if the quality of lithium produced will consistently meet industry standards.
Dr. Ahmed Abdelkarim, co-founder of Watercycle Technologies, emphasized the importance of the breakthrough: “These results mark yet another technological milestone by our DLEC™ technology, one of the first in Europe to produce such quantities of lithium carbonate crystals. We understand our customers’ need to obtain this product more efficiently, so we’ve designed our end-to-end solution to meet this demand.”
He further added, “With the ability to generate refined lithium carbonate onsite, our technology offers customers the opportunity to capture more of the value chain. We are now positioning ourselves to supply lithium salts at the ton-scale for OEMs and chemical suppliers.”
While the successful extraction of battery-grade lithium from wastewater could represent a step forward in sustainable resource management, it remains to be seen whether Watercycle Technologies can overcome the technical and economic challenges of scaling up the process. The company hopes that its innovation will contribute to the UK's efforts to develop a more secure and sustainable supply of essential materials for the burgeoning electric vehicle market, but industry experts caution that further testing and economic analysis will be needed before widespread adoption.
