The world needs greener lithium power, fast.

Canada’s commitment to staying ahead in the race to dominate the electric vehicle (EV) market is clear.

At least 20% of new car sales should be electric by 2026, 60% by 2030 and 100% as early as 2035. The Government has also committed $2.7 billion towards a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant – the size of 300 football fields – to be built on Montreal’s South Shore.

But what we also need is a commitment to developing and adopting more environmentally sustainable lithium extraction processes.

The Status Quo

Currently, most lithium is extracted by evaporation. In this process, huge volumes of water are permanently depleted from brine aquifers called salars. This method of lithium extraction causes water stress and severe environmental consequences in lithium-rich areas such as Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia.

Additionally, traditional lithium mining is typically energy intensive, producing large volumes of emissions and leading to air and water pollution, land degradation, and the potential for groundwater contamination.

The future?

Direct Lithium Extraction or DLE offers a more sustainable and less environmentally harmful alternative to traditional lithium mining. DLE wastes less water, uses less chemicals, takes up less land, is faster, and has a higher lithium recovery rate.

When paired with Ionic Solutions Capacitive Electrodialysis Reversal (C-EDR) technology, DLE has the potential to reuse almost all of the water used in the extraction process, using incredibly small amounts of electrical energy.

The result is a lithium extraction process which has the minimum possible water footprint, and a dramatically reduced carbon footprint when compared to traditional extraction methods.

Powerful cleantech partnerships

Ionic Solutions is proud to partner with the DLE industry to ensure that, as we transition to a carbon-free future, we safeguard our planet and its resources.