A borehole lost in the middle of agricultural fields. “White gold” next to the rows of corn or wheat. A distracted walker would struggle to distinguish a geothermal lithium power plant behind the four walls of this modest factory, located in the countryside, around sixty kilometers from Strasbourg. However, it is in Rittershoffen (Bas-Rhin) that the French mining group Eramet and Electricité de Strasbourg (ES) have been experimenting for a month with a pilot unit for direct lithium extraction. The ore is at the heart of all industrial desires, since it became an essential component in the manufacture of electric batteries.
Since 2016, ES has operated the site using geothermal energy: it draws water naturally heated to 170°C, at a depth of 3,000 meters, to produce 190 gigawatt hours of energy per year, which will power the food group’s factory. Roquette Frères located in Beinheim, about fifteen kilometers away.
But, since 2019, Eramet has formed a partnership with the Alsatian group to collect lithium from brines, these salty waters at very high temperatures present in rocks. The project, called Ageli (Alsace Géothermie Lithium) and presented on Tuesday, December 5, to the press, must be tested continuously for six months, in order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technical process and to ensure stability over a long period of time. duration of lithium extracted.
10,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year by 2030
If the test is conclusive, it could lead to an investment by the two partners of several hundred million euros to ultimately develop an industrial lithium sector in Alsace. The drilling of at least three other geothermal wells would be necessary, but no final decision expected before 2026, according to Eramet and ES.
However, the objectives have already been set for the project: the production, by 2030, of 10,000 tonnes of Alsatian lithium carbonate per year, or a volume equivalent to 250,000 electric car batteries, which would supply the gigafactories of there “battery valley” around Dunkirk (North). Which would correspond to between 10% and 15% of the needs of the entire French automobile industry, while the sale of new thermal vehicles will be prohibited in Europe from 2035.
Energy produced by geothermal energy, a technique that emits little CO2could also supply on-site lithium refining units. “We are in a nascent industry and we want to be, with Eramet, the leaders of a new French value chain in the coming years”explains Marc Kugler, general director of Electricité de Strasbourg. “Our ambition is to produce carbon-free energy, to supply a national lithium industry and to contribute to France’s energy transition”adds Ludovic Donati, director of the Ageli project at Eramet.
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