Neptune Energy Achieves Milestone with First Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate from Brine Using KBR’s PureLi® Technology
KBR is proud to partner with Neptune Energy to produce battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃) from gas field brine at the Altmark site in Germany, utilizing KBR’s proprietary PureLi® refining and conversion technology.
Li2CO3 is a key precursor for the production of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles and portable consumer electronics, such as laptops and cell phones.
In November 2024, Neptune Energy, under KBR’s guidance, produced its first technical-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) from lithium chloride (LiCl), extracted through Geolith’s Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) Li-Capt® technology. Recently, this LiCl has successfully been converted to Li2CO3 of 99.5% purity, meeting stringent industry standards.
This milestone involved key lithium refining and conversion steps offered through KBR’s proprietary PureLi technology such as:
- Lithium chloride concentration
- Advanced refining for efficient impurity removal
- Lithium carbonate crystallization
“Congratulations to the entire team on this important milestone! Strengthening regional lithium supply chains is critical to ensuring energy security, and KBR is proud to support this project,” said Hari Ravindran, Senior Vice President, Technology Solutions. “With our advanced PureLi technology, we are helping secure a reliable supply of high-purity lithium to meet the growing demand for e-mobility.”
Axel Wenke, Director New Energy at Neptune Energy says, “KBR played an important role in our first lithium pilot project in the Altmark region. Thanks to KBR’s guidance and experience in the DLE business we were able to produce first lithium carbonate out of Altmark brine in our Lingen based laboratory.”
