As the demand for lithium grows, so too does the danger that environmentally unsustainable methods of mining will be increasingly used.

Calgary’s Summit Nanotech has put into production a method of lithium extraction that has the potential to green the lithium mining industry. Their process reduces land use, removes 90 per cent of waste, and cuts in half greenhouse gas emissions.

It also promises to free local markets from dependence on lithium conversion in China, and build value chains for customers in Europe and North America.

“We really kept sustainability at the core of our decision making as we were developing the technology,” said Amanda Hall, CEO for Summit Nanotech.

The company will be sending two pilot extraction units to Chile and California starting in January.

Green extraction

Lithium ions in water are identified, and then extracted by the company’s technology.

They use beads and membranes to immobilize lithium ions so they can be pulled from the water. These methods operate at the nano-scale, and have real world implications for the use of acids and freshwater as part of the extraction process.

“One of the most important aspects of lithium extraction that we needed to address was the use of fresh water,” said Hall.

“We developed technology that uses no fresh water, and that was one of the key differentiators for us compared to our competitors.”

As a result of not requiring the use of fresh water, waste is reduced by 90 per cent. Compared to traditional lithium mining, land use is 26 times less.

The process is also low pressure and low heat compared to other lithium extraction technologies.

“Much to my engineers’ chagrin, because they said ‘you can’t have it all Amanda?’ and I said, ‘yes, we can—we can do it all,'” said Hall.

“We’ve got lower greenhouse gases, no fresh water use, and 90 per cent less waste in the process,” she said.