Gradiant’s spin-out, alkaLi, it says is leading the direct lithium extraction (DLE) and production market with its EC2 technology, which has demonstrated a ‘groundbreaking’ 97% lithium recovery rate from salar brines in North America. The new technology is guaranteed by Gradiant to deliver at least 95% lithium recovery at customer sites. It says this empowers industries to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate faster, cheaper, and more sustainably than ever.
alkaLi’s EC2 technology it says is the first and only all-in-one solution engineered to extract, concentrate, and convert battery-grade lithium to meet the accelerating demand from EVs, energy storage, and electronics. It says producers now benefit from reduced costs with 50% lower OPEX and CAPEX costs; industry-leading sustainability with minimised carbon and water footprints; accelerated Production now measured in hours, not months; compact footprint in the form of rapidly deployable mobile 20 ft or 40 ft containers; and expedited permitting with product water in discharge compliance and ready for re-injection.
alkaLi has already proven EC2’s concentrate process for a leading US energy company at a commercial site in Clayton Valley, Nevada, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the foundational CFRO technology to concentrate lithium to battery-grade quality.
Demonstration testing of EC2’s three stages using salar brine feedwater confirms extraction of over 95% DLE efficiency, even with high COD content; plus CFRO technology concentrates lithium to battery-grade levels above 200,000 mg/L. It precipitates highly concentrated lithium into a solid to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide. alkaLi’s Elemental Technology approach adapts the EC2 technology stack to recover a wide range of other critical minerals, including copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese, magnesium, and iron.
Later this month, alkaLi says it will commission a custom solution with a global mining leader in Western Australia, focusing on nickel and cobalt recovery from mine wastewater. Enhanced with Gradiant’s Selective Chemical Extraction technology, the solution purifies feedwater, readying it for CFRO – “a breakthrough system that outperforms any commercially available RO processes, delivering a concentrated 300,000 mg/L product with minimal energy use.”
Once deployed, alkaLi will transform tailing ponds from environmental liabilities into valuable mineral sources, offering a sustainable path to meet global mineral demand. At another site in Southeast Asia, the EC2 technology is already converting mine wastewater into high-value industrial-grade magnesium sulphate.
“alkaLi’s modular approach to engineering the EC2 technology stack continues a Gradiant philosophy of maximising the impact of our cutting-edge innovation across industries and regions,” said Prakash Govindan, COO of Gradiant. “The minerals we target are essential to accelerating the electrification of society, and I am thrilled that alkaLi will play such an important role in availing these raw materials to the world’s pioneers.”
