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UK project targets more selective lithium extraction using protein membranes
The three-year effort, funded with £6.2 million ($8.2 million), aims to improve direct lithium extraction by separating lithium from sodium for battery-grade purity.
Mining.com reports that researchers at the University of Birmingham are leading a £6.2-million ($8.2-million) three-year project to develop protein-based membranes that could make lithium extraction more selective and potentially less energy-intensive.
The work is funded by the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency, ARIA, and will initially focus on a key hurdle in direct lithium extraction, separating lithium from sodium to produce high-purity lithium compounds used in battery manufacturing.
Project lead Dr. Dominik Kubicki said the approach aims to harness biology to create membranes with uniform, programmable pores, an approach intended to deliver precision that is difficult to achieve with existing manufacturing methods.
The outlet adds that the consortium includes Aston University and three industrial partners, and that researchers will need to translate biological precision into durable membranes that can operate at industrial scale.