Equinor Ventures invests in Lithium de France
Equinor Ventures is pleased to announce its investment in Lithium de France, marking an entry both into France and into the domain of raw material production for batteries.
Lithium de France combines the production of zero-carbon geothermal energy with environmentally-friendly extraction of lithium from hot brines located deep in the subsurface.
In certain geographical areas, e.g. the Rhine Graben in northern France and southern Germany, hot brines (salty waters) are located in geological formations several kilometers into the earth. The salts in these brines contain lithium, a very valuable primary material for battery production. In areas with demand for heat, e.g. industrial sites, this represents an opportunity of delivering carbon-free heating. At the same time, technologies to extract lithium from the hot brines are under development. This means a double business opportunity to produce both heat and lithium from the same wells, with very low impact on the environment.
For Equinor, understanding the technologies and value chains of energy storage is important from the perspective of a growing supplier of renewable electricity. Lithium de France also represents a potential for synergies and collaboration in terms of subsurface competence and experience.
“Equinor Ventures invests in technologies and solutions that can bring strategic market insights and open up opportunities to expand Equinor’s business in the future. I am looking forward to seeing Lithium de France supply geothermal heat and delivering lithium to the global battery market – both with a very low environmental footprint”, says head of EV Gareth Burns.