CMI Project 1.2.16: Mechanochemical extraction of lithium at low temperature (MELLT) from chemical-grade domestic α-spodumenes

Ihor Hlova at Ames National Laboratory leads the CMI project "Mechanochemical extraction of lithium at low temperature (MELLT) from chemical-grade domestic α-spodumenes"

The rapidly growing criticality of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in all kinds of technologies and the projected nearly tripling demand for lithium material by 2025 compared to 2019 requires the development of advanced methods to extract and manufacture battery-grade lithium materials from all available natural resources. The goal of this work is to establish sustainable, energy-efficient methods to extract 85+% of lithium from spodumene containing pegmatite ores (α-spodumenes) at half the cost compared to existing commercially available technologies. We achieve this goal by developing and optimizing the Mechanochemical Extraction of Lithium at Low Temperature (MELLT) approach to extract / produce battery-grade lithium carbonate and/or lithium hydroxide from domestic chemical-grade α-spodumenes.