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(c) EnBW
Funding Body
Welcome to UnLimited!
With this website we want to provide the most relevant information on the research project UnLimited that deals with investigations on lithium extraction from hot deep water in Germany.
The co-production of lithium from deep geothermal plants is currently being discussed worldwide and has already been implemented locally in a pilot manner. Demand for lithium is growing rapidly, especially in the field of electromobility. In Germany, high lithium concentrations of up to 200 mg/l are measured in hot thermal brines in the Upper Rhine Graben (ORG) and North German Basin (NGB). The potential is therefore promising, and this extraction technology can be a steppingstone in the establishment of a domestic value chain for lithium.
In the UnLimited joint project, the project partners are working together on the development and testing of a process that will enable lithium production from the extracted deep waters to accompany their geothermal energy use.
Project Partner
BESTEC GmbH
BESTEC specializes in the development and use of renewable energies, in particular geothermal energy from hydrothermal and so-called Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) for power generation and heat generation. BESTEC has set itself the goal of combining the specific strengths of research and industry and developing innovative concepts based on them.
EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG
Deep geothermal energy as an ever-available renewable energy source has been a focus of EnBW's research for several years. EnBW gained extensive practical experience as an operator of geothermal plants in partnerships in which it jointly planned, built, and operated the geothermal power plants Bruchsal (since 2010) and Soultz, France (since 2010).
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
The Department of Applied Geology deals with the characterization and modelling of near-surface and deep aquifers with a focus on solid rock hydrogeology of georeservoirs and groundwater resources in semi-arid areas (e.g., karst aquifers). The working group uses a wide range of methods.
Hydrosion GmbH
HYDROSION is an international consulting company for groundwater analyses in the area of hydrogeochemistry, water-gas-rock-interactions as well as investigations of scalings and korrosion in the frameowkr of the utilization of deep ground waters.
KIT - AGW
The Department of Geochemistry & Economic Geology at the Institute of Applied Geosciences (AGW) at KIT deals intensively with the development processes of different hydrothermal deposits & geothermal systems. The research is based on high-quality analysis, which is carried out in a widely equipped laboratory for environmental and raw material analysis.
Projektteam
Links
moma future: Lithium - das weiße Gold
Lithium ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil moderner Akkus. Erstaunlicherweise gibt es auch in Deutschland Lithium-Vorkommen, in Zukunft soll sich der Abbau lohnen.
Hier geht's zum Video.
Lithium aus Geothermie
Nach erfolgreichen Labortests erprobt die EnBW die klimaneutrale, industrielle Gewinnung von Lithium aus der Tiefengeothermie. Im Video erklären die EnBW-Forscher Elif Kaymakci und Thomas Kölbel das gemeinsam mit dem KIT entwickelte Verfahren.
Hier geht's zum Video.