• Lithium-rich brine from underground in the Upper Rhine Valley is pumped to the surface.
• Then, the lithium is extracted from the brine using Adsorption-type Direct Lithium Extraction (A-DLE). This technology has been used commercially since the 1990s.
• More specifically, the hot brine containing lithium is channeled through a type of filter known as a sorbent. The lithium ions remain suspended in this sorbent while the remaining brine flows through.
• The brine’s heat is used to drive the extraction process and to produce renewable heat and electricity. The brine is then returned to the natural reservoir – a closed cycle.

• A-DLE, short for Adsorption-type Direct Lithium Extraction, is a method of extracting lithium from brine.
•  The market share for A-DLE currently sits at ca. 10% of global lithium production and is forecast to grow by 280% over the next ten years (source: Benchmark Minerals Intelligence), being the technology of choice for much of the industry going forward.
•  A-DLE’s advantages over legacy extraction methods of lithium include lower operating costs, lower environmental impact, higher product quality, and a positive track record.

Lithium extraction from hard rock: Hard rock mining lithium minerals is a very energy-intensive process. The minerals are usually mined at around 1% Li₂O, meaning that 99% of the mined material is waste. The ore is concentrated to around 5-6% Li₂O, before being transported long distances to refineries which are usually in China. This means that around 94-95% of the shipped material is usually waste. The refinery uses a roasting process, which uses large amounts of fossil fuels to produce lithium hydroxide.

Lithium extraction through evaporation ponds: Lithium extraction from brines evaporates large quantities of water in some of the driest places on earth. It also has a significant CO₂ footprint, through large use of chemical reagents.​

More about legacy methods

• VULSORB® is the proprietary lithium extraction technology that Vulcan uses to capture the lithium before the brine is returned to the subsurface.
• The aluminate-based sorbent has a higher performance and lower water consumption during lithium extraction compared to commercially available sorbents.
• VULSORB® can be used in Europe as well as in other brines worldwide.
• VULSORB® has been successfully tested with multiple brines, both in Europe and globally, and is available for licensing.

Learn more about VULSORB® 

• The extracted lithium is first purified in a lithium extraction plant. It is then transported in an aqueous lithium chloride solution to a lithium electrolysis plant, where it is processed into the final product lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM).
• LHM is supplied to the automotive industry via cathode and battery cell manufacturers and used for the construction of electric vehicles or for renewable energy storage (solar and wind). At the end of the battery life cycle, the lithium can be recycled.

• No. Lithium extraction is a physical process, which means that only a few reagents are required.
• As the entire process takes place in a closed circuit, no other substances bound in the brine can escape.

• In the realm of energy storage and the shift to electromobility, lithium-ion batteries have undoubtedly established themselves as a reliable and efficient technology, providing crucial advancements in various applications. Their high energy density, long lifespan, and widespread availability make them a frontrunner in the battery and automotive industry.
• Vulcan is gearing up to become Europe’s leading sustainable lithium business and to enable energy security through geothermal energy, aiming to establish a domestic and green lithium supply in Europe, for Europe, to support the battery automotive industry in its EV transition.
• Commercial series production of battery electric vehicles (BEV) using sodium-ion-batteries as alternative to lithium-ion-batteries has begun. Vulcan believes there is a place for sodium batteries in the market. While lithium-ion batteries currently hold certain advantages, such as greater energy efficiency and a more mature technology base, sodium-ion batteries may showcase potential benefits, e.g. in terms of cost and resource availability. In the EV sector, sodium-ion batteries will typically be used for smaller vehicle with shorter driving ranges.
• Embracing technological diversity is key to fostering innovation and sustainability, ensuring that both technologies can coexist and contribute to the green EV transition.

• The sustainability of lithium extraction at Vulcan has been comprehensively assessed by several independent studies. Two environmental studies based on life cycle assessments (LCA) were carried out by Minviro, a company specialising in raw material analysis, as part of the Pre‑Feasibility Study, the Definitive Feasibility Study, and the Bridging Engineering Study for Vulcan’s project. The results of the most recent study were published in the 2023 Sustainability Report (link).
• These assessments show that Vulcan’s process has a significantly lower environmental impact compared to legacy methods
• A key component of the process is the CO₂-neutral conversion of lithium chloride into lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM), which can be used directly in electric vehicle battery production
• Vulcan has also carried out an Environmental Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), which is a prerequisite for raising sustainable debt finance and is an important third-party validation of forecasted environmental and social impacts. The ESIA considers the overall environmental and social impact of the project over its entire life cycle (construction, operation and dismantling). Vulcan conducted its first ESIA in 2023, which the Company updated and published in 2024 and 2025
• In October 2024, Vulcan’s Green Financing Framework was assessed by leading independent ratings agency, S&P Global Ratings, and awarded a Dark Green rating overall, the highest ever received by a Metals and Mining company globally. Vulcan was also awarded a Dark Green rating across the Green Enabling Project and Renewable Energy categories. S&P Global concluded the Framework aligns with third-party published sustainable finance principles, including the International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles and Green Enabling Projects Guidance, and the Loan Market Association Green Loan Principles.

• For safety, handling and energy efficiency reasons, lithium is not transported to Frankfurt in crystallised form as lithium chloride (LiCl). Instead, a LiCl solution is used, as it would be inefficient to evaporate the salt before transport and dissolve it again in Frankfurt – particularly as an aqueous LiCl solution is required for electrolysis for processing into battery-quality lithium. Additionally, the solution is much safer and easier to handle than solid salt.

• To operate a plant that produces around 24,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide annually, about ten trips per day are required. Each of these trucks’ transports around 27 tonnes of material.

• Based on projections, Vulcan anticipates that lithium extraction can be undertaken economically for several decades, with heat production from each site lasting at least 50 years
• According to the current state of research, only limited options are available to ensure both efficient energy storage in batteries and a sustainable supply of green electricity and heat. In this context, the extraction of lithium is justified – especially as it already enables us to make a tangible contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions
• Geothermal energy remains a central component of sustainable energy supply. In some cities (e.g. Munich in Germany, Riehen in Switzerland), geothermal plants for electricity and heat generation are operated economically without lithium extraction at all.

• Yes, after lithium extraction, the brine still has a temperature of about 70°C. However, this residual heat is no longer used by Vulcan for energy and is returned to the reservoir with the thermal water. Reinjection closes the natural cycle, which is crucial for the geothermal sustainability and stability of the reservoir.

• With the help of the data from the successfully completed 3D seismic survey, optimal locations for a geothermal borehole can be identified
• The locations are always selected in such a way that interference with nature and the influence on the environment are as low as possible.

• The drilling site is built completely watertight to protect the surrounding area, especially the groundwater, from contamination.
• The site will be equipped with its own drainage system, which is independent of the public sewerage system. As in all commercial operations, wastewater is collected, analysed at regular intervals, and disposed professionally if necessary.

• As soon as the well site is set up, the drilling rig is erected and the drill pipe is ready, the drilling begins.
• The standpipe itself is only 30 to 40 metres deep. Smaller pipes, which are inserted into each other, follow, being sealed against each other to protect the groundwater. The wells are then drilled vertically to a depth of around 1,000 metres before they are deflected and lead at an angle into the permeable reservoir.
• During the drilling process, various experts are deployed to ensure that the drilling is carried out safely and to monitor the individual work steps. Once the desired end point of the well has been reached, several tests are carried out. Upon successful completion, the system is prepared for commissioning.

• A threat to groundwater from deep geothermal energy can be ruled out if it is carried out professionally
• All deep boreholes are subject to the strict operating plan procedure under mining law, which also considers the interests of the local population and environmental protection
• Particularly when drilling through drinking water-bearing layers, strict protection requirements must be met. These include the special selection of the drilling method, the drilling fluid (without water-polluting ingredients) and reliable, multiple casing and cementation to sustainably shut off the borehole from the drinking water horizon. All sealing areas are also continuously monitored by measuring equipment over the entire period of operation and their functionality is assessed at regular intervals by external experts
• In the immediate vicinity of the boreholes, several groundwater measurement gauges are installed for continuous groundwater monitoring. This is important in that it is then necessary to prevent the groundwater from spreading beyond the area of the drilling site, and in order to be able to take effective countermeasures in a timely and targeted manner
• The monitoring and the measures are co-ordinated with the water authority.

• By regularly monitoring various parameters in the drilling, defects can be recognised at an early stage.
• In addition, a network of measuring points in the near-surface aquifer can help to ensure that any seepage of brine into near-surface aquifers can be detected at an early stage and suitable countermeasures can be initiated.
• Chemically analysing the brine prior to commissioning also enables a detailed risk assessment to be carried out, allowing the monitoring concept to be adapted accordingly.

• Brine in the Upper Rhine Valley contains dissolved radioactive elements due to the bedrock deep underground. However, measurements in geothermal plants have shown that radioactivity is practically negligible.
• The radioactive levels in the brine are so low that a protective distance of a few centimetres from the pipes carrying brine is sufficient to prevent exposure on the plant site.
• The plant components are marked on the floor. Only when precipitation occurs can radioactivity accumulate in the heat exchangers, for example. The precipitation is counteracted with a constant pressure of 23 bar.
• Over time, it has been possible to reduce the amount of these deposits further and further. The residues are removed during the annual inspection in compliance with all prescribed safety precautions to protect employees and are disposed of in accordance with an authorised disposal route.

• The drilling does not create cavities that could collapse and cause subsidence on the surface.
• Brine is extracted from fissures and pores in the sandstone, where the diameter of the drilling decreases with increasing drilling depth.
• In contrast to mining and oil production, utilising deep geothermal energy does not involve permanent extraction of ground resources because the brine is channelled back into the same reservoir after the heat has been taken out.

• In Germany, fracking is only permitted for research purposes under strict conditions and is not used by Vulcan.
• Fracking is often confused with so-called ‘hydraulic stimulation’. Fracking creates new cracks and thus pathways for groundwater in an otherwise dense structure. In hydraulic stimulation, existing cracks/ paths in the vicinity of the borehole are widened with pressure, thereby improving the hydraulic connection of the borehole to the groundwater-conducting formation
• The brine reservoirs on the Upper Rhine are located in particularly permeable rock layers (shell limestone and coloured sandstone), making fracking, which is mainly used to open up impermeable rock layers, unnecessary.

• A drilling site is about three hectares in size – the equivalent of about four football pitches. The surface is always structured in the same way, regardless of how many boreholes are drilled. This standardised layout makes it possible to also schedule reserve boreholes, which increases flexibility and secures the heat supply
• The drilling site contains the boreholes themselves, the technical systems for energy generation and heat exchangers through which the heat generated can be fed directly into a district heating network.

• Above the surface, the injection and production wells are only a few meters apart. At a depth of 3.5 km in the ground, they are about 1.5 km apart. This distance does vary and depends on where in the rock there are particularly well-permeable areas through which the thermal water can flow
• The basis for defining these zones is a geological 3D model derived from seismic measurements. In addition, computer simulations are used to calculate how the water behaves underground over a long period of time. This ensures that the system can be operated stably, efficiently and sustainably – as is the case at the Insheim site, for example, where such a distance has already been successfully implemented.

• A geothermal well is carried out in several sections to ensure the stability and tightness of the well
• After each drilling section, a steel pipe, the so-called casing, is installed and firmly connected to the surrounding rock with cement. This cementation prevents liquids from migrating uncontrollably between different geological layers. At the same time, cement and steel pipe protect the borehole from collapsing
• The structure is based on the structure of a telescope: in the upper area of the borehole are steel tubes with a large diameter. This diameter is reduced in the course of the drilling, so that ultimately four different pipe sizes are installed in the borehole
• Inside the borehole are special pipes, with both the production and injection pipes – technically designed to withstand heat and rust and not break due to the harsh conditions that arise during the life phase of a well
• If lithium is to be extracted from the thermal water, the technical structure of the plant can be more complex. Then, among other things, special heat exchangers and processes for material separation are used. Sometimes this requires additional, targeted drilling – all of which serves to make the best use of the heat and valuable raw materials.

• The drilling depth is between 2.5 km and 4 km.

• Before each borehole, an elaborate geophysical preliminary exploration is required. This is necessary in order to plan the drill target and the necessary drill path. The preliminary exploration is then carried out to create a structural image of the subsoil. The depicted structures are interpreted – together with other geoscientific data (and drilling data and experiences from previous and/or nearby projects) in the region – for their potential to carry brine
• The amount of lithium in the brine can only be determined conclusively by analysing the extracted thermal water. Fortuitously, a number of brine samples from boreholes in the Upper Rhine Graben have already been analysed, giving Vulcan a good indication of the typical lithium content in the thermal waters in the various formations/ reservoirs, which is very consistent across the Rhein Graben.
• Based on these analyses and other comparative geological data, regional drilling history and extensive modelling, Vulcan estimates the brine at the proposed drill sites also contains an economically viable lithium concentration. The final proof is provided by a test borehole and subsequent analysis of the first thermal water extracted.

• To transport the extracted brine to the central facilities for lithium extraction and energy supply, pipelines are required. These pipelines connect Vulcan’s various well sites with the central plants. After the lithium extraction, the thermal water is transported back to the well sites through the same pipelines and reinjected into the underground reservoir, where it can naturally recharge with heat and lithium.

• The pipelines run underground with an overburden of at least 1.5 metres. The route along which the pipelines runs is called a corridor (German “Trasse”). The corridor width is between 12 and 14 metres, as two lines are laid for supply and return as well as power, control and communication lines
• Subsequently, the area immediately above the pipeline corridor can be reused for agriculture. Vulcan has the goal of having as little impact on nature, the environment, agriculture and people as possible. The corridor will run along existing parcels and infrastructure facilities as far as possible. Furthermore, the interests of property owners and managers are considered. Co-ordination also takes place with the Farmers’ and Winegrowers’ Association and with the relevant chambers of agriculture.

• The location of a well depends on the underground drilling target (reservoir) and the above-ground possibilities (location of the well site). The drilling target is determined by preliminary geophysical exploration (usually seismic measurements)
• When selecting the location for a well site, Vulcan complies with all applicable regulations (e.g. land use plan of the respective municipalities, site selection law), – in particular, the requirement that well sites must be located outside urban areas, water protection areas, and nature reserves. With Vulcan’s drilling technology, typically it is not necessary to drill straight down into the ground to reach brine
• For Phase One Lionheart Project, the wells are being drilled in the north-east of the district of Insheim (Schleidberg), with others to be built in the northern part of Rohrbach (Trappelberg) and in the western part of Herxheim (40-Morgen). Additional drilling sites are yet to be determined.

• The drilling work is carried out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and takes several months for each well. Extensive consultation and communication are undertaken with local residents and other stakeholders prior to, and during, drilling operations.

• Seismicity is a risk associated with any utilisation of the subsurface (e.g. mining, drinking water extraction, hydrocarbon extraction)). Vulcan’s aims to keep seismicity below the perception threshold and avoid even the slightest damage
• To achieve this, all activities during project development and operation are monitored using highly sensitive vibration measurements and operations are adjusted accordingly, and Vulcan’s operations always remain in the “green zone” of the best practice system deployed by the authorities.
• 3D seismic technology used by Vulcan enables the subsurface to be investigated more precisely in advance, which is best practice and reduces risk
• Seismology is the technique in which seismic waves are used to obtain information about the subsurface, while seismicity describes the observable earthquake activity in a region.

• The controlled construction and operation of a geothermal plant means that any seismicity causing damage is highly unlikely to occur.
• In the unlikely event that damage occurs, it is expected to be minor and will be promptly and efficiently addressed by Vulcan. According to mining law, Vulcan would need to prove the company is not responsible for any damage incurred.
• Vulcan has developed a detailed liability concept which provides for a fund made available to settle minor claims via an independent ombudsman. In the unlikely event of major damage or frequent incidents, liability insurance covers the current value.

• Insurance covers the following areas:
  • Business liability insurance: This covers claims for damages (statutory liability under private law) if the business causes damage to property or persons — for example, through errors, omissions, or technical defects
  • Environmental liability insurance: This insures personal injury and property damage as well as pollution/ contamination of natural resources caused by environmental impacts – for example, through the release of pollutants
  • Environmental damage insurance: This also covers legally required measures to remedy environmental damage – for example, to soil, water, or protected species – in accordance with the Environmental Damage Law (USchadG).

• During a 3D seismic survey, so-called vibro-trucks drive over roads and paths in the exploration area.
• The trucks lower a plate to the ground and cause it to vibrate.
  These vibrations are recorded by earth microphones previously distributed in the region and are roughly comparable to the vibrations of a tram or a heavy truck.
• Measuring points on sensitive infrastructure (e.g. bridges or pipelines) are excluded from the measurement and the measurement time in a municipality is limited.
• The method works in a similar way to an ultrasound examination: sound waves are sent into the ground and reflected on various rock layers. The recorded data is then processed and evaluated

• The vibrations generated by the seismic measurements can be felt near the trucks
• These measurements ensure that DIN 4150, which specifies guidelines for vibrations in construction and their effects on buildings, is complied with at all times. If the value comes close to the limit values, the measurement is stopped immediately to rule out any danger to buildings (from Geowärme NRW).

• The noise level of a seismic measurement is equivalent to that of a garbage truck. A garbage truck has a volume of about 85 dB.

• As a rule, measuring points on sensitive infrastructure (e.g. bridges or pipelines) are excluded from the measurement where necessary
• On soft soils, unpaved paths or pre-damaged roads, local damage can occur, such as marks in the unpaved paths. Vulcan is responsible for the repairs and/ or compensation
• To avoid damage, the vibration intensity can also be reduced or measuring points can be omitted altogether from certain points. This will be discussed individually with the affected municipalities and owners for each measuring point
• As a safety measure, the intensity of the vibrations at the nearest buildings is monitored. This ensures that the vibrations are within the specified DIN range to prevent possible damage
• All enquiries regarding Vulcan’s seismic measurements can be sent to seismik@v-er.eu.