The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) will invest $2.9 million into a pilot demonstrating an innovative lithium refining technology, which uses electricity to turn lithium contained in liquid waste from mining and processing into high-quality lithium needed to make batteries.
The funding will go to Electralith, a spin-out from Monash University that is based around the company’s patented Direct Lithium Extraction and Refining (DLE-R) processes.
It bills its technology as “the cleanest, most versatile, and most cost-efficient method to extract and refine lithium”, said says it requires no water or chemicals, and that it can be powered entirely with renewable energy.
The federal government’s investment will help to pilot Electralith’s innovative ‘R-Box’ lithium refining technology which uses electricity to turn convert lithium from processing waste streams into battery grade lithium needed to make batteries.
Located in Kwinana, Western Australia, the R-Box pilot will cost $7.3 million in total and take around 14 months, with design expected to get underway some time this year, and construction, commissioning, and operations to progress over 2027.
