US oilfield services giant Schlumberger is dipping its toes into lithium extraction with a new pilot plant in Nevada as automakers boost production of battery-powered electric vehicles (EV).
Schlumberger plans to test the commercial viability of its direct lithium extraction process at a $15mn pilot plant it expects to open later this year at a site in Clayton Valley, Nevada, owned by Pure Energy Minerals.
Schlumberger's subsidiary, NeoLith Energy, will operate the pilot plant. The direct extraction process tested at the site could reduce lithium production times from over a year to just a few weeks, Schlumberger said.
The plant also will attempt to reduce water consumption by as much as 85pc through subsurface brine extraction. Lithium processing typically involves water intensive brining, one of the main environmental concerns about producing the metal. About 2mn liters of water are required to produce one ton of lithium, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Schlumberger is expanding into lithium extraction to try to capture expected demand for lithium-ion batteries amid a rise in EV manufacturing. Lithium producer Albemarle forecasts that global EV lithium demand will rise to 787,000 metric tonnes/yr of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2025, from 113,000t/yr in 2020.
As more automakers in the US increase their EV offerings, more companies have looked to Nevada as a source of domestic lithium. Albemarle plans to double the capacity of its Silver Peak, Nevada, mine as well as examine the viability of processing Nevada's lithium-containing clays. Likewise, EV maker Tesla outlined plans for extracting lithium clays from the Nevada desert at its 2020 battery day.
Pure Energy Minerals is a Canada-based lithium resource developer whose flagship asset is the Clayton Valley site. Schlumberger in May 2019 agreed to develop the project and boost its stake in Pure Energy Minerals to 20pc.
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