Lithium extraction breakthrough: a step towards a greener future

Monash University spinout company ElectraLith has proven its Direct Lithium Extraction and Refining (DLE-R) technology can produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide using no water, no chemicals and minimal energy.

Backed by Rio Tinto, IP Group and Monash Investment Holdings, ElectraLith’s DLE-RTM technology is unlocking a green future and emerging a clean, versatile and cost-efficient method for extracting and refining lithium, the fundamental element driving a sustainable future.

The DLE-R technology can produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide from a range of lithium sources including salar brines, geothermal oilfield brines and spodumene leach in locations across the US, Argentina and Australia.

The technology meets a significant and urgent global demand to reduce the economic and environmental costs of lithium production.

Lithium is an essential element in ‘clean energy’. It is used to make batteries for electric vehicles and wind and solar power storage. Most processes to extract lithium are costly and have negative impacts on the environment such as carbon dioxide emissions, mineral waste, chemical pollution and the subsequent alteration of the hydrological cycle from the use of vast quantities of water.

DLE-R uses electro-membrane and electrodialysis technology to extract and produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in a single, scalable and modular step. Other DLE technologies generally require further processing and energy to produce a usable lithium chloride product.

ElectraLith’s patented DLE-stage membranes are based on work conducted by Professor Huanting Wang, Sir John Monash Distinguished Professor and Australian Laureate Fellow within the Faculty of Engineering.

ElectraLith CEO Charlie McGill welcomed the breakthrough. “These results validate the true potential of DLE-R across lithium resource type, quality and concentration,” he said.

“We’re particularly excited about the Paradox Basin Utah result, where DLE-R produced 99.9% pure lithium hydroxide from Mandrake’s geothermal oilfield brines without water, an increasingly scarce resource in the broader Colorado River Basin.

“This, coupled with the production of lithium hydroxide from a brine with less than 60 parts per million, demonstrates that DLE-R can unlock otherwise impracticable strategic reserves in the United States and Australia,” McGill said.

Monash University Chief Commercialisation Officer Dr Alastair Hick congratulated the team on the breakthrough.

“Seeing the progression of this company from university research to a functional proof of concept is a testament to the drive of the research team and the supportive innovation ecosystem Monash provides to our community,” Hick said.

US resources company Mandrake plans to deploy the technology in one of the driest areas of North America. “The outstanding performance of the DLE-R process is a critical step forward for Mandrake as we seek to commercialise our expansive Utah Lithium Project,” said Mandrake CEO James Allchurch.

“DLE-R is perfectly suited to the water chemistry of the Paradox Basin, and we look forward to partnering with ElectraLith in processing larger volumes of brine from the Utah Lithium Project.”

IP Group Australia Managing Director and ElectraLith Chair Mike Molinari welcomed the proof of concept, alongside the delivery of:

• an American Association of Cost Engineers Class 5 Techno Economic Analysis Report conducted by Worley Consulting;
• a process model performed by Dr Mike Dry of Arithmetek Inc., a globally recognised expert in the field of process and early-stage cost modelling;
• a life cycle assessment (LCA) performed by global sustainability and LCA authority Minviro.
   

“These reports provide an important validation of ElectraLith’s revolutionary DLE-R process,” Molinari said. “As we enter the prototyping stage, our relationships with these world-class consultants will be vital to delivering on DLE-R potential to reshape the lithium industry.”

The ElectraLith team and Rio Tinto will trial and test the first DLE-R prototype at Rio Tinto’s Rincon Project in Argentina in 2026.

“We invested in ElectraLith to support their DLE-R technology and we are pleased that it is showing real potential to significantly reduce the economic and environmental costs of lithium production,” said Travis Baroni, Rio Tinto Chief Advisor for Battery Minerals and ElectraLith Non-Executive Director.

This is a modified version of a news item published by Monash University. The original version of the news item can be accessed here.

Image credit: iStock.com/jroballo