Northern Lithium and Evove deliver battery-grade lithium carbonate at industrial scale in the North of England

• Battery-grade lithium carbonate with >99.5% purity produced at industrial scale from UK saline brines using advanced Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) system developed in the UK
• Northern Lithium the first primary producer to process its northeast of England saline brines into battery-grade lithium at Evove’s newly opened DLE Test Centre in the northwest of England
• Milestone demonstration of Evove’s DLE process using large quantities of real brines
• Confirmation of commercial potential of Northern Lithium’s Northern Pennine Orefield, County Durham brines
• North East and North West both set to play key role in quest for secure domestic supply of lithium to support UK gigafactories and UK’s electric vehicle and power storage industries

This key milestone has been achieved using saline brines extracted from the Northern Pennine Orefield, northeast of England, by Northern Lithium, a privately-owned innovative mineral exploration and development company based in County Durham. The brines were processed at a specialist pilot plant in Widnes, northwest of England, using innovative new Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology developed by Cheshire-based membrane filtration experts, Evove.

Trials conducted at Evove’s new DLE Test Centre in August have so far produced around 2 kilograms of battery-grade lithium carbonate at a purity level above 99.5%, confirming the commercial potential of Northern Lithium’s saline brines.

Lithium is a critical raw material in the manufacture of rechargeable batteries. This milestone is therefore welcome news for UK gigafactories and the country’s electric vehicle and power storage industries that must otherwise depend on imported lithium, mainly from Asia, Australia and South America. A secure domestic supply of battery-grade lithium will provide significant environmental and economic benefits, as well as reduce the UK’s exposure to global supply chain disruptions. It is forecast that the UK will need up to 80,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent per year by 2030 and as much as 135,000 tonnes per year by 2040.

“The quality and quantity of lithium carbonate that has been produced at industrial scale is incredibly exciting,” commented Nick Pople, Northern Lithium Managing Director. “Our goal is to reach commercial production of between 5,000 to 10,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium per year from several production areas across the Northern Pennine Orefield over the next decade. The material produced by Evove’s DLE membrane filtration technology confirms the purity of our brines and ability to deliver a commercially viable solution. It is a huge step forward and gives us the green light to quickly begin scaling up activities.”

“We have developed a strong partnership with Northern Lithium, enabling us to move rapidly to deliver this significant milestone,” said Chris Wyres, Evove CEO. “Processing large quantities of real brines validates the industrial scalability of our DLE solution and its ability to produce high purity battery-grade materials, both cost effectively and sustainably.”

“Northern Lithium’s brines are some of the easiest and cleanest saline brines we have tested to date,” continued Dr. Wyres. “This would make them relatively cheap and straightforward to process on a commercial scale, meaning low operating and capital costs.”

Northern Lithium Founder and Chairman, Richard Morecombe, added: “Thanks to Evove’s technology and expertise, we can now move straight from this pilot to full-scale production. It’s vital that the UK secures a sustainable supply of lithium from domestic sources as quickly as possible, and it now looks certain that the North East and North West will both play a key role in that quest.”

The two companies are already working on a commercial-scale processing plant to allow Northern Lithium to deliver full-scale battery-grade lithium production at its first County Durham site, whilst expanding exploratory drilling activities at other locations across the Northern Pennine Orefield.

Established in 2017, Northern Lithium is a privately-owned innovative mineral exploration and development company, based in County Durham and focused on delivering a secure domestic supply of lithium from the North East for UK gigafactories and the UK’s electric vehicle and power storage industries, using sustainable extraction and production techniques.

www.northernlithium.co.uk For more information please contact: nickpople@northernlithium.uk, +44 7788 665754

Evove deploys advanced technology to reduce the cost and environmental impact of the filtration and separation of fluids in lithium, green hydrogen and food & beverage production, as well as in desalination and the treatment of industrial water.

www.dle.technology For more information please contact: andrew.walker@evove.tech, +44 7450 583660