{"id":460155,"date":"2025-09-29T10:17:23","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:17:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/460155\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T10:17:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T10:17:23","slug":"43-million-tons-of-lithium-discovered-in-germany-could-transform-european-ev-battery-supply-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/460155\/","title":{"rendered":"43 million tons of lithium discovered in Germany could transform European EV battery supply chain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neptune Energy<\/a> confirmed that Germany holds one of the world’s largest lithium resource bases, amounting to 43 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent. The resource base is located in the Altmark Region<\/a> in Northern Saxony Anhalt, an area with a 55-year legacy in natural gas production.<\/p>\n

The UK-based oil and gas exploration and production firm commissioned international and independent valuation agency Sproule ERCE to determine the resource base for a lithium extraction<\/a> project in the region, following CIM\/NI43-101 standards.<\/p>\n

Neptune Energy CEO Andreas Scheck stated that the assessment highlights the significant potential of the company’s license areas in Saxony-Anhalt. “This enables us to contribute significantly to the German and European supply market for the critical raw material lithium,” he said.
Also read: Giant lake sits on a $540 billion Lithium jackpot, but scientists warn of \u2018environmental disaster\u2019: Here i<\/a>
Altmark basin transitions from natural gas to lithium extractionThe Altmark basin in Saxony-Anhalt has served as a key site for natural gas extraction. Once one of Europe’s largest gas fields, it is part of the Permian Basin that extends across Northern Germany into Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.\"ETLive EventsNeptune Energy and its predecessor companies have utilized the region’s geological resources since 1969. Recent data shows that Rotliegend brines from the Altmark gas field are strongly mineralized and highly enriched in lithium.
Sproule ERCE confirmed 43 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in the area. “This means that one of the world’s largest project-based lithium resources is located in Northern Saxony-Anhalt,” Neptune Energy stated.
The Lithium Triangle, shared between Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile, holds 53 per cent of the world’s lithium resources, containing nearly 50 million tons of the alkali metal.
Direct lithium extraction method minimizes environmental impactNeptune Energy is shifting its focus from fossil fuels to battery materials. Instead of using open-pit mining or evaporation ponds, the firm is deploying direct lithium extraction from underground brine.<\/p>\n

The DLE technique minimizes land use and environmental impact, relying on ion-exchange and adsorption processes to isolate lithium from brine deposits.<\/p>\n

Neptune Energy completes pilot projects for lithium extractionIn August, 2025, Neptune Energy completed its second pilot project using DLE technology from partner Lilac, successfully extracting battery-grade lithium carbonate from Altmark’s geothermal brine. A third pilot test focused on an adsorption-based process is currently underway.<\/p>\n

Also read: Startup claims it can make gold from mercury using fusion; science fiction turns real<\/a><\/p>\n

If granted necessary mining permits, Neptune plans to follow the pilot phase with a demonstration-scale facility integrating extraction, processing, and production. This would serve as the final step before full-scale commercial operations.<\/p>\n

Neptune Energy holds multiple lithium licenses in Altmark regionNeptune Energy holds the Jeetze-L production license along with three exploration licenses for lithium in the Altmark region. The company received the Milde A-L and Milde C-L licenses in 2024. It obtained the Milde B-L license in the southeastern part of the region in 2025.<\/p>\n

“The Altmark region combines geological potential, established infrastructure, and technical know-how \u2013 perfect conditions to successfully complete the transformation from natural gas production to environmentally friendly lithium extraction,” said Axel Wenke, Neptune Energy’s new energy director.<\/p>\n

Discovery could reshape European electric vehicle battery supply chainThe lithium discovery has the potential to transform Europe’s role in the global electric vehicle and battery supply chain. The 43 million ton resource base positions Germany as a major lithium supplier for EV battery production.<\/p>\n

Also read: Billion-year treasure or environmental bombshell? $1.5 trillion lithium find inside supervolcano sparks gl<\/a><\/p>\n

Direct lithium extraction<\/a> technology offers an alternative to traditional mining methods while accessing one of the world’s largest lithium deposits.<\/p>\n

Add \"ET as a Reliable and Trusted News Source<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Neptune Energy confirmed that Germany holds one of the world’s largest lithium resource bases, amounting to 43 million…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460156,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[152330,154190,2000,299,1824,154188,154189,154187],"class_list":{"0":"post-460155","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-altmark-region","9":"tag-direct-lithium-extraction","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-germany","13":"tag-germany-lithium-resources","14":"tag-lithium-extraction","15":"tag-neptune-energy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115287074188445180","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460155"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460155\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}