en.Wedoany.com Reported - Vulcan Energy has commenced construction of its Central Lithium Plant at the Infraserv Industrial Park Höchst in Frankfurt, Germany, as part of its Lionheart geothermal lithium project. This downstream processing plant will utilize an electrolysis process to convert lithium chloride, extracted from geothermal brine, into lithium hydroxide monohydrate (LHM).
The Lionheart project is expected to produce 24,000 tonnes of LHM annually, equivalent to the amount needed for approximately 500,000 electric vehicle batteries, and co-produce 275 GWh of renewable electricity and 560 GWh of heat per year over its approximately 30-year project life. The lithium will be extracted from low-impurity geothermal brine using Vulcan's Adsorption Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) technology, with the geothermal brine powering the production after electricity generation, and surplus electricity sold to the local market.
The company has received all necessary regulatory construction approvals, and this groundbreaking ceremony marks the transition of the Lionheart project from the preparation phase into full-scale construction. Vulcan's Managing Director and CEO, Cris Moreno, stated: "We are pleased to move beyond preparation and begin full-scale construction at our commercial lithium plant. This groundbreaking ceremony follows a similar event held late last year at our upstream lithium extraction plant in Landau, highlighting our progress on the construction timeline and our target for commercial production in 2028. We thank all the stakeholders who joined our event and are working alongside Vulcan to make Lionheart a reality."
The project secured €2.2 billion (approximately $3.9 billion) in financing and reached a Final Investment Decision in December 2025. Located in the Upper Rhine Valley brine field between Germany and France, Lionheart represents Vulcan's first production phase and is a significant project for Europe's energy and critical raw material self-sufficiency.
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