A Dutch industrial consortium has launched a €3.6 million, three-year pilot project to evaluate whether lithium recovered from European geothermal resources and spent batteries can be converted into battery-grade materials through a lower-carbon circular refining process.
The initiative, named LiSA, is led by chemicals producer Nobian and brings together Back to Battery, the University of Twente and Demcon Suster, with the Institute for Sustainable Process Technology (ISPT) coordinating the programme and distributing results across the Dutch industrial network. The project has received €2 million in funding from the Dutch government through the TKI Energy programme, while the remaining financing is provided by consortium members.
Pilot targets European lithium conversion capacity gap
LiSA is focused on one of the weakest segments of Europe’s battery supply chain: the conversion of lithium-bearing materials into highly purified chemicals required for cathode and battery-cell production. While Europe has attracted investment into battery manufacturing, recycling facilities and potential lithium mining projects, the region continues to have limited capacity for producing battery-grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate and lithium carbonate.
The consortium will test whether lithium sourced from European geothermal brines and recycled batteries can be processed using Nobian’s patented salt-chemistry and crystallisation technology. According to project partners, the proposed process could reduce energy consumption by approximately 50% and lower carbon dioxide emissions by around 50% compared with conventional lithium refining methods. The technology is also designed to reduce water consumption, waste generation and reliance on imported chemical inputs.
The process begins with a lithium chloride solution that is combined with caustic soda and processed through two crystallisation stages. During this stage, lithium hydroxide and sodium chloride are separated. Instead of being discarded, the sodium chloride is returned to Nobian’s existing chlor-alkali operations, where electrolysis converts the salt back into caustic soda for reuse in lithium refining.
Nobian integrates chlor-alkali expertise into lithium processing
The closed-loop approach combines salt chemistry, electrolysis and crystallisation within a single process system, replacing a conventional refining model based on externally sourced chemicals and separate waste-management streams. The consortium expects the approach could reduce reagent purchases, water requirements and waste-treatment volumes, alongside lowering emissions.
Nobian will provide its electrochemical, crystallisation and industrial scale-up expertise. The company has more than a century of experience in salt production, electrochemistry and chlor-alkali operations and employs approximately 1,600 people across the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
Its existing industrial assets include infrastructure that could potentially support future lithium conversion facilities, including electricity connections, water-treatment systems, chemical-handling facilities, laboratories, industrial permitting frameworks and process-engineering expertise.
Recycling and geothermal lithium inputs to be tested
Back to Battery will supply lithium-bearing materials recovered from end-of-life batteries, allowing the pilot to assess secondary lithium feedstocks alongside primary sources. Demcon Suster will design and construct the research installation, while the University of Twente will focus on process modelling, optimisation and scale-up analysis. ISPT will manage coordination and technical knowledge transfer.
The pilot will examine whether the process can maintain lithium purity, recovery rates, reagent balance and energy efficiency when operating with variable real-world feedstocks.
Lithium-bearing materials from recycled batteries and geothermal brines can contain impurities including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, boron and iron. These contaminants can influence crystallisation performance and final product quality. The project will evaluate the impact of different feedstocks on pretreatment requirements, process stability, equipment corrosion, filtration, crystallisation behaviour and final lithium product specifications.
Commercial validation remains key development stage
The pilot’s results will determine whether the technology can advance toward demonstration-scale development and eventually commercial production. For future investors and lenders, key performance indicators will include lithium recovery rates, product yields, continuous operating availability, electricity consumption per tonne, caustic-soda balance, water demand, waste volumes and impurity-removal costs.
A commercial-scale project would also require capital-cost estimates, construction schedules, feedstock agreements and battery-material offtake arrangements.
The LiSA programme is being developed amid changing lithium market conditions. Following the price surge of 2022–2023, driven by supply concerns and rapid electric-vehicle growth, lithium prices declined as additional supply entered the market and demand growth slowed in several regions. The weaker pricing environment has increased pressure on higher-cost projects and made investors more selective when considering European lithium-processing developments.
Europe remains dependent on external lithium supply
European lithium imports continue to reflect the region’s dependence on overseas supply chains. In 2025, EU imports of lithium carbonate declined to approximately 8,200 tonnes, compared with 15,000 tonnes in 2019. The average import price fell from €30.6 per kilogram in 2023 to around €11.6 per kilogram.
By import value, Chile supplied around 70% of EU lithium carbonate imports, followed by Argentina with 11% and the United States with 7%.
EU lithium demand is expected to reach approximately 58,000 tonnes annually by 2030, while European mining output currently accounts for less than 0.1% of global mined lithium supply. The European Commission expects lithium demand to increase roughly twelvefold by 2030 and twenty-onefold by 2050 compared with earlier consumption levels. The Critical Raw Materials Act sets targets for the European Union to extract 10%, process 40% and recycle 25% of annual strategic raw material requirements by 2030. The regulation also seeks to ensure that no more than 65% of EU consumption at any relevant processing stage depends on a single third country.
Circular refining model linked to EU raw materials goals
LiSA is designed to support the processing and recycling objectives of the Critical Raw Materials Act by allowing the use of multiple lithium sources rather than relying on a single mine or brine project. The consortium intends to combine potential European primary lithium sources with recycled lithium recovered from batteries.
The involvement of Back to Battery connects lithium recycling directly with refining. Many European recycling projects currently focus on producing black mass or intermediate materials, which still require additional separation and conversion before lithium can return to battery production. A refining process capable of handling recycled lithium solutions could capture material currently lost in lower-value residues or requiring additional processing outside Europe.
Geothermal lithium projects provide another potential feedstock source. Several European developers are working on extracting lithium from underground brines while producing renewable heat or electricity. These projects could provide locally sourced lithium chloride solutions, although commercial performance depends on extraction efficiency, brine chemistry, reservoir management and access to nearby conversion facilities.
Existing industrial clusters could support future plants
A flexible lithium refinery capable of processing geothermal and recycled inputs could allow multiple suppliers to share purification, crystallisation, utilities and product-quality infrastructure. Future commercial deployment would require detailed feedstock specifications, pricing mechanisms linked to lithium content and impurity levels, mass-balance systems and traceability controls.
Electricity supply will also remain a critical factor because electrolysis and crystallisation require significant energy inputs. The emissions performance of industrial-scale operations will depend on electricity and steam carbon intensity, plant operating patterns and indirect emissions management.
Locating lithium conversion facilities within existing Dutch chemical clusters could provide access to established utilities and grid infrastructure, although projects would also face European industrial electricity costs and network charges. Long-term renewable power agreements, flexible operating models and integration with Nobian’s chlor-alkali assets could become important elements of future commercial development.
Nobian expands battery-material technology portfolio
Chlor-alkali facilities can adjust electricity consumption within operational limits, creating potential opportunities to integrate lithium processing with periods of lower electricity prices. Čithium crystallisation requires stable operating conditions, consistent product quality and high utilisation rates.
Nobian has previously tested elements of its lithium-conversion technology with Veolia Water Technologies, using evaporation and crystallisation capabilities to validate the conversion of lithium chloride into lithium hydroxide monohydrate.
LiSA expands this work by introducing recycled lithium inputs, reagent circularity and a broader Dutch research and engineering partnership. The company is also participating in the SLDBatt and STARBATCH programmes, which focus on sodium-based battery technologies. LiSA remains an early-stage development project, with its €3.6 million budget intended for process validation rather than commercial-scale deployment.
A full-scale lithium refinery would require significantly larger investment, alongside environmental permits, grid capacity, water and chemical-management systems, qualified feedstock sources and long-term customers. The pilot will determine whether Europe’s existing chemical infrastructure, electrochemical expertise and growing battery-recycling sector can be combined to create a domestic pathway for battery-grade lithium production.
