The BMW Group is investing in a process developed by the start-up Lilac Solutions. An ion exchanger is to be used to make the mining of lithium from the brine of salt water deposits more environmentally friendly.
Sustainable lithium mining by Lilac Solutions
BMW
The patented process developed by the US start-up Lilac Solutions improves lithium mining. Using an ion exchanger, it aims to extract lithium from the brine of saltwater deposits in a more environmentally friendly and cost-effective way. The BMW Group is investing in the company through its venture capital fund BMW i Ventures.
The lithium mining technology has proven itself in initial field pilot projects and will be further developed in the next step. If it is scalable and can be industrialized in the medium term, the process would be applicable worldwide in brines, even if these only have a low lithium content. The BMW Group buys raw materials such as lithium directly and makes it available to battery cell manufacturers.