Vulcan Energy (VUL) has penned a binding term sheet with SLB to provide services for the phase one development of its Zero Carbon Lithium project in Germany’s Upper Rhine Valley Brine Field.
Through this agreement, the global energy technology company will provide services to bolster the current geothermal-lithium brine production at its Zero Carbon project.
The technology services are valued at $3.6 million to support optimal workflow and maximize performance at the project under a right of first refusal basis.
Vulcan will also receive drilling services for a minimum of 15 production and re-injection wells from SLB for the production of renewable heat and lithium-bearing brine.
“As widely reported, whilst the mining sector is investing in hard-rock lithium production, the oil and gas sector has unique expertise which can be leveraged to develop renewably heated lithium brine assets, which can produce lithium sustainably with a lower carbon footprint,” Vulcan Managing Director and CEO Dr Francis Wedin said.
“The Zero Carbon Lithium project, which is gearing up to provide sustainable lithium to the European electric vehicle industry and renewable energy to local communities, is well positioned to benefit from partnering with established companies with long-standing expertise in the energy sector like SLB, and we look forward to working together as we ramp up our execution phase.”
SLB has a unique GeothermEx consulting business, working in more than 50 countries and participating in more than 70 per cent of all operating geothermal projects globally.
Since 2006 the company has been a leader in drilling technology services for geothermal projects in the Upper Rhine Valley, handling a majority of the projects in the area and around Germany and France.
“Our decades of subsurface knowledge, drilling expertise, and cutting-edge technologies will be seamlessly integrated into this project to deliver increased brine production, aiding Vulcan in its objective of providing sustainable, decarbonised lithium,” SLB Managing Director of Europe Rob Fox said.
From Vulcan’s Zero Carbon Lithium project, the company plans to create enough renewable heat production for more than one million people by 2030, enough lithium hydroxide for one million electric vehicles annually, and avoid one million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.
Source: The Market Herald
