R&D and Validation Projects
We don’t just develop ideas - we test, validate, and refine them through targeted projects that strengthen scalable, commercial lithium and critical mineral recovery.
Explore the projects
From Technical Insight to Stronger Project Decisions
Our R&D and validation projects help reduce uncertainty before the next stage of development. Through targeted project work, we assess resource potential, test recovery pathways, generate process data, and strengthen the technical and commercial basis for future deployment. Together, these projects support smarter decisions around process design, scale-up, and long-term resource development.
We also see strong value in collaborating with universities, companies, and third-party experts. These partnerships bring together academic insight, specialist knowledge, and real-world industrial challenges - creating a stronger basis for innovation, validation, and practical application. For us, it is a two-way exchange: we contribute industry context, data, and commercial direction, while our partners contribute research depth, technical expertise, and new perspectives that help move ideas forward.
Sustainable Metals From Geothermal Water
This completed project assessed the potential for extracting valuable metals from European geothermal waters. The work began with the compilation of a comprehensive database of geothermal and produced water chemistry across Europe to identify which target metals were present. From there, relevant extraction technologies were reviewed and evaluated, including their technical maturity, to determine which routes showed the strongest potential.
Based on that analysis, the project identified the metals with the highest economic extraction potential to guide future development priorities. It also included the design of a laboratory-scale experimental setup to test extraction feasibility and an assessment of the upfront investments needed to validate and advance the most relevant technologies. The project provided a structured technical foundation for deciding which metals to pursue and how to move toward technical validation. It also directly informed the later magnesium extraction project and helped inspire the membrane distillation project by highlighting gaps in publicly accessible geothermal brine data.
Key milestones achieved
Compiled a comprehensive geothermal and produced water composition database, prepared a detailed extraction technologies map, and set out a clear overview of future development ideas and next-step validation opportunities.
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| Project details | Completed | 8 months | Aalborg University (AAU) | ~$109,000 |
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Assessment of Lithium Recovery Potential from Ohio Produced Water
This project evaluates and advances the recovery of lithium from Ohio’s oil and gas produced water - a largely untapped domestic resource with the potential to strengthen U.S. battery supply chains and reduce reliance on imported lithium. By combining field sampling of representative produced water sources, bench-scale testing of commercially available direct lithium extraction technologies, and techno-economic and energy modelling, the project is designed to characterize lithium concentrations, assess recovery efficiency under Ohio-specific conditions, and identify economically and technically viable approaches for scale-up.
The work is intended to provide actionable guidance for state agencies and private-sector partners on how lithium recovery from Ohio-produced water could be pursued responsibly and cost-effectively while leveraging existing produced water infrastructure. Ohio University leads the project, with Lithium Harvest supporting sample collection and characterization, as well as the evaluation of lithium recovery technologies through technical expertise, DLE materials, and system guidance.
Key milestones achieved
Grant approved.
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| Project details | In progress | 2 years | Ohio University | ~$195,000 |
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Sustainable Magnesium Extraction Assessment From Danish Geothermal Brines
This project evaluates the technological and commercial feasibility of establishing a sustainable magnesium extraction route from Danish geothermal waters. It builds on prior MUDP-funded research that identified promising magnesium concentrations and relevant mid-to-high TRL separation technologies, creating a stronger basis for focused follow-on assessment. Leveraging existing expertise in water treatment and lithium extraction from brines, the project explores how geothermal waters could support a lower-impact magnesium supply pathway in Europe.
The work includes assessment and benchmarking of suitable magnesium separation and purification technologies against conventional production routes such as hard rock mining, the Dow process, and seawater evaporation. It also includes the development of a conceptual process design integrating modified and innovative extraction methods tailored to geothermal brines, alongside analysis of energy consumption, emissions profile, and overall environmental performance relative to current global supply chains. In parallel, the project includes a detailed magnesium market assessment and a preliminary techno-economic analysis to evaluate commercial viability, competitiveness, and the broader business case for producing low-impact magnesium in Europe. Together, these analyses aim to support improved supply security and a reduced environmental footprint.
Key milestones achieved
Assessment and benchmarking of suitable magnesium separation and purification technologies against conventional production routes have been completed. A detailed magnesium market assessment has also been finalized, resulting in an internal Mg market knowledge database covering supply-demand dynamics, pricing structures, trade flows, competition, and strategic positioning within Europe.
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| Project details | Completed | 1 year 6 months | Lithium Harvest | ~$85,000 |
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Membrane Distillation for Metal Production From Geothermal Water
This project aims to advance sustainable European production of selected critical raw materials by validating geothermal water as a viable alternative resource and developing scalable extraction processes. A central focus is closing the existing European data gap on critical mineral concentrations through a structured sampling and analytical program, while also establishing the laboratory capabilities needed to handle and test real geothermal fluids.
Building on earlier screening work, the project experimentally validates and optimizes promising separation technologies - particularly membrane distillation - on actual geothermal waters. It also assesses recovery performance and technical feasibility and uses chemical and thermodynamic modelling to define a process concept suitable for future pilot-scale implementation. Together, this work is designed to strengthen both the resource understanding and the technical foundation for future scale-up of critical mineral recovery from geothermal sources.
Key milestones achieved
A lab-scale membrane distillation setup has been fabricated and tested using real brine from a geothermal test well in Germany, with process data documented across varying operating conditions. In addition, 11 new water samples have been collected from geothermal locations across Europe.
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| Project details | In progress | 2 years 8 months | Aalborg University (AAU) | ~$615,000 |
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OmniLibCycle
OmniLibCycle aims to develop and demonstrate innovative, sustainable, and cost-effective technologies for recycling challenging lithium-ion battery waste, with a focus on consumer devices and light mobility vehicles such as e-bikes and e-scooters. The project is built around a modular, decentralized value chain that advances direct recycling, mixed-chemistry black mass valorization, and process water purification.
Over 30 months, the project brings together five interconnected work packages covering automated cell disassembly, electrode and electrolyte recovery, lithium and fluorine purification, and cathode material leaching and refurbishment, to prepare these technologies for commercial deployment. Lithium Harvest’s role is focused on simulation model development and bench-scale process setup design, supporting the broader effort to improve circular recovery pathways for battery materials through stronger process understanding, chemistry-based modelling, and scalable treatment concepts.
Key milestones achieved
Lithium Harvest has developed a conceptual process route and completed MinTeq and PhreeqC simulations to evaluate precipitation behavior and fluorine removal chemistry. Project partners have also advanced work on automated battery disassembly, active material delamination, and process water testing as the integrated recycling concept continues to develop.
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| Project details | In progress | 2 years 6 months | Lithium367 AS, The Danish Technological Institute, and Baisikeli ApS | ~$2,022,000 |
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Why This Work Matters - and How We Partner
These projects help turn early technical potential into stronger, more informed development decisions. Through targeted R&D and validation work, we assess resource potential, test recovery pathways, strengthen process understanding, and build a better foundation for future scale-up.
We see this kind of work as an important part of building better projects. It helps reduce uncertainty, sharpen technical and commercial decision-making, and identify where low-impact lithium and critical mineral recovery can create real value.
We are open to collaborating with partners on research, development, validation, and demonstration projects across brines, minerals, water treatment, and circular resource recovery. Whether the goal is to explore a new opportunity, validate a process, or generate the data needed for the next stage, we welcome relevant project dialogue.
Start a Project Dialogue
If you see a potential fit for collaboration, we’d be glad to discuss your resource, process, or validation opportunity.
