Kostbaar metaal lithium ontdekt in de Kempen: belangrijk voor productie van smartphones en elektrische wagens
by E_Kristalin
Kostbaar metaal lithium ontdekt in de Kempen: belangrijk voor productie van smartphones en elektrische wagens
by E_Kristalin
2 comments
**Valuable Lithium Metal Discovered in the Kempen: Important for the Production of Smartphones and Electric Vehicles**
The geothermal company Hita has discovered the precious metal lithium in the hot water it pumps from the underground in Kempen. This was reported by De Tijd on Saturday. The battery raw material producer Umicore sees potential in the project, which could yield up to 150 million euros worth of lithium per year.
Lithium is a metal that, along with nickel, manganese, and cobalt, is essential for the production of batteries for electric cars or smartphones. It is traditionally extracted in two ways: from rocks (pure mining, as in Australia) and from salt flats, such as in the Atacama Desert in Chile. In the latter case, it resembles the brine from geothermal sources. Lithium serves as the conductive material in a cathode, the most important and expensive component of a battery.
The project in Kempen is still in its early stages. However, based on the initial findings of Hita in a feasibility study, supported by the Flemish Agency for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Vlaio), it appears that there is 100 mg of lithium per liter in the water.
Source: HLN shamelessly stole it from De Tijd.
Edit: [The longer article from De Tijd](https://www.bing.com/ck/a?!&&p=259b9c75260cd058JmltdHM9MTY5NDgyMjQwMCZpZ3VpZD0xMDcyYTZjNi05Mjk4LTZiZjctMzVkMS1iNGJjOTNmNDZhY2ImaW5zaWQ9NTIxMw&ptn=3&hsh=3&fclid=1072a6c6-9298-6bf7-35d1-b4bc93f46acb&psq=lithium+kempen+vrt&u=a1aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGlqZC5iZS9vbmRlcm5lbWVuL2dyb25kc3RvZmZlbi9nZW90aGVybWllYmVkcmlqZi1oaXRhLW9udGRla3QtbGl0aGl1bS1pbi1kZS1kaWVwZS1rZW1wZW4vMTA0OTMwNzEuaHRtbA&ntb=1) (You could read the article when entering from a search engine, so I copied that link)
Lithi-jom.