Lithium Extraction
Introduction to Geolit Energy’s Lithium Extraction Business
Definition of Lithium
Lithium is a silvery, soft, solid element with the lowest density among metals.
Lithium compounds are used in a variety of applications,
but are most often used in rechargeable batteries for
mobile phones, laptops, and electric vehicles.
Increase in Sales of Electric Vehicles
Electric vehicles (EVs) are showing steady growth due to the atmosphere where consumers value eco-friendly trends
and the accelerating development of related technologies. Electric vehicle sales are expected to account for about 24%
of the total automobile market in 2030, and surpass internal combustion engine vehicle sales at about 54% in 2040.
[Electric Vehicle Sales Growth Trend]
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Lithium Demand Increases
Demand for lithium is expected to increase rapidly due to the increase in demand for electric vehicles,
and it is predicted that lithium supply will be in short supply in 2030.
In addition, lithium is expected to continue to be used as a core material in next-generation battery technology,
and demand is expected to continue to increase.
[Outlook for Future Lithium Supply Shortages (Unit: million LCE*)]
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Major Lithium Production Areas and Reserves Worldwide
74% of global lithium production is located in Australia and Chile.
Australia has a lot of hard rock type deposits, and a large amount of spodumene exists in the west coast.
Chile has a lot of salt water type deposits and is known to have the highest quality of lithium compared to other countries.
[Comparison of lithium production by country in 2020]
Hard Rock Mine (Greenbushes, Australia)
Brine (Atacama, Chile)
Method For Extracting Lithium From Hard Rock Mines and Brine
There are two major methods of extracting and refining lithium,
mainly from hard rock mines (about 13%) and salt lakes (about 87%).
China uses the method of refining lithium carbonate from Australian spodumene concentrate (hard rock type),
and Chile uses the brine evaporation extraction method (salt water type).
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DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction)
DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) is a technology that selectively extracts lithium from brine,
and has the advantage of achieving a higher recovery rate and shorter extraction time than conventional evaporation methods.
Representatively, there are Sorption, Solvent Extraction, and Ion Exchange methods.
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| Sorption | Solvent Extraction | Ion Exchange | |
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Related Company, XtraLit
XtraLit is an Israeli-based company that holds a patent for the effective extraction of lithium from low-concentration brine.
Geolit Energy acquired a 29.88% stake in XtraLit on April 3, 2023 for an acquisition amount of approximately KRW 19.4 billion.
Dr. Simon Litsyn
- XtraLit Co-founder and CEO
- Professor Emeritus, Department of Electrical Engineering, Tel Aviv University
- ARShow Co-founder and President
- Tsofun Co-founder and Director
- Sparkion Advisor
XtraLit's History
| Year and Month | The details |
|---|---|
| 2019.10 | Acquired the first patent (USA) for brine lithium extraction technology |
| 2021.07 | Established XtraLit company |
| 2021.11 | Acquired 2nd patent (USA) for brine lithium extraction technology |
| 2021.11 | Acquired $10 million capital increase (AG Consulting International LLC) through Round A |
| 2022.03 | Acquired 3rd patent (USA) for brine lithium extraction technology |
XL-DLE : XtraLit Direct Lithium Extraction
It is a unique patented technology for direct extraction of lithium from low- and medium- concentration brine, a unique adsorbent
that can operate over a wide range of pH concentrations and has significant advantages over competing technologies in selectivity and durability.
→ Geolit Energy is targeting commercial production and sales of lithium in the country by securing an equity investment in XtraLit and proprietary DLE technology.
[Overview of the Extraction Process Flow for Lithium]
As shown in the figure below, lithium extraction from brine goes through the following steps:
Collection of Brine → Ion Exchange by Adsorption and Desorption → Extraction of Eluate→ Evaporation and Crystallization → Purification.
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Advantages of XL-DLE technology
- Lithium supply can be greatly increased by extracting rare resources.
- It reducesenvironmental pollution and CO2 emissions.
- The space occupied by production equipment can be drastically reduced.
- The extraction of lithium isindependent of climatic conditions.
- While the lithium recovery rate of the evaporation extraction method is 40~50%,the lithium recovery rate of XL-DLE's Ion Exchange method is up to 95%.
- It takes a relativelyshort period from exploration to production.
XL-DLE technology compared to other lithium extraction methods
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